Students protesting against alleged irregularities in Jharkhand’s recruitment exams burnt the effigies of chief minister Hemant Soren, leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav in Ranchi on Sunday, comparing them to “the dead”, even as the state government invited them for fresh talks on Monday.
They accused the ruling alliance of playing politics over their issues and announced they would gherao the chief minister’s residence on August 20, demanding his resignation.
A day earlier, the protesters had demanded that Congress withdraw support from the ruling coalition since the chief minister “was not listening to him”.
Earlier reporting noted: The protesters have also announced plans to burn effigies of Rahul Gandhi and Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren during a demonstration later in the day. The Jharkhand government has invited students for fresh rounds of talks on August 17, according to an official quoted by news agency PTI. We have been protesting peacefully and following Gandhian principles for the past 22 days, but the government seems to be ignoring us.
The students accused the JMM-Congress alliance of “failing to take concrete action” on their demands. Students have accepted the invitation and said fresh talks with the government will be held in the presence of their legal advisor. The protesters said they would not withdraw the demonstration until the government addresses their demands, including the cancellation of examinations in which alleged irregularities were found, and ordering an independent probe into the recruitment process. In his Independence Day address, the chief minister had said questions surrounding recruitment examinations had shaken the trust of an entire generation of job aspirants. Soren said creating employment opportunities was among the government’s top priorities. The government is now forcing us to follow the path of Bhagat Singh,” he said. Earlier reporting noted: Paswan said the students had now decided to launch a “do-or-die battle” and would continue their agitation until the JSSC examination is cancelled, a CBI probe is ordered and all examinations conducted by TDPL are cancelled.
Earlier reporting noted: “After days of protest, we are now changing our mode of agitation, and somewhere the government itself is responsible for this.
