Jharkhand Paper Leaks Protest: The Jharkhand government delegation comprising 4 ministers held a key meeting with protesting students at the venue, State Guest House, Ranchi, on Friday, aiming to reach an agreement to end the ongoing protest against the paper leaks in the state. JPSC-JSSC aspirants have been protesting at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium in Ranchi.
Talks Will Continue: Student After Meeting With Government Delegation
After meeting with the State Govt delegation, a member of the aspirants' delegation said the demands have been placed before them. "It was a positive meeting. Further discussions will be held. The protest continues. Our issues were taken seriously. They will speak with the CM. A solution will be brought about," he added.
Student leader Ravindra Paswan said that the SDO gave students a message that the government was ready to have a dialogue with them. "I would like to assure all the students and youth of Jharkhand that our delegation team is going there as your representative. All our demands are essential; we will not consider the dialogue successful if even one of those demands is not accepted, and we will continue our protest."
"We are confident that the government, the Chief Minister, and all the ministers will accept our legitimate demands. Positive discussions took place between the two sides," he added.
Students Give August 10 Ultimatum
The student delegation has given the government an ultimatum until August 10. If the students' demands are not met by August 10, they said they would gherao the assembly.
Who Have Attended The Meeting:
Members of the student delegation:
- Ravindra Paswan
- Piyush Kumar
- Rajesh Prasad
- Neetu Kujur
- Ankit Raj
- Kartik Soren
- Shalu Kumari
- Ravindra Kumar Ravi
- Anand Kumar
- Ankit Kumar
On the government side, ministers Deepika Pandey Singh, Chamara Linda, Sanjay Prasad Yadav, and Sudipy Kumar are present.
Students' Key Demands:
Paswan said students' main demands have been categorised into 3 - cancellation, investigation and reforms. "Under cancellation, we are mainly demanding cancellation of JSSC and all exams conducted by the TDPL agency. We are also demanding cancellation of all those exams which had the involvement of Abhay Tiwari. As far as investigation is concerned, we are demanding both CBI and ED investigation. Reforms need to be made to JPSC and JSSC," he added.
1. Cancellation – Immediate cancellation
All JPSC exams conducted by TDPL should be immediately cancelled, including the following:
- 14th JPSC
- JPSC Backlog 2023
- JPSC Backlog 2025
- FRO
- 11th–13th JPSC
- APP and all other exams
All exams in which Abhay Tiwari has been successful, appointed, or involved in any way should be immediately cancelled, including:
- JSSC CGL
- JSSC PGT
- ACF and all other related exams
2. Fair and comprehensive investigation
The CBI and ED should conduct a fair and timely investigation into the exam scams. The following examinations should be investigated by CBI/ED:
- JSSC CGL (January 2023 Paper Leak)
- JSSC CGL Re-Exam (September 2023)
- JSSC PGT
- JSSC Secondary Acharya
- JSSC Lab Assistant
- Lady Supervisor
- Product Constable
- All other suspicious examinations
A comprehensive investigation should be conducted into the irregularities and certificates issued by agencies, commission officials, and suspect universities, and action should be taken against those found guilty.
3. Accountability
The final investigation report should be made public within a maximum of three months. Strictest legal action should be taken against all those found guilty (agency, administrative, political, and others). In JPSC and JSSC, not only the Chairman should resign, but all guilty and involved members and employees should be removed from their posts to ensure accountability.
4. Comprehensive Reform
The outsourcing agency system should be abolished, and examinations should be conducted by the respective commissions.
Cut-off marks should be released along with the results for each stage (PT, Mains, etc.), and a score card containing both original and normalized marks should be issued along with the final result. The entire normalisation process and formula should be made public. The OMR sheet of the JPSC Preliminary Examination and the answer sheet of the Main Examination should be made available online.
Individuals with political backgrounds or their relatives should not be appointed to the positions of Chairman or Member in the JPSC and JSSC. Only non-political individuals with a clean image should be appointed.
In the event of paper leaks, exam scams, and irregularities, prompt and transparent investigations should be conducted, and cases should be resolved within 90 days by a Fast Track Court. An assistance amount of ₹1 crore should be provided to the families of deceased excise constables.
Earlier in the day, protesting students submitted a fresh panel comprising 10 members to the Jharkhand government to hold talks to resolve the issue after the government disapproved the previous delegation to hold talks.
The new list was sent after the government objected to the previous 11-member panel, which included an advocate and two technical experts, said the JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch, under which the agitation is being carried out.
Meanwhile, the protest in Jharkhand over the alleged irregularities in the JPSC and JSSC examination continued on Friday at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium in Ranchi with BJP and NDA leaders slamming the state government over its response. The protest against the alleged irregularities in recruitment exams entered its 14th day on Friday with six demonstrators on a hunger strike, while two student unions held a march to the state assembly during the day.
Ranchi SDM, ADM Meet Students
Stepping into the ongoing protests regarding disputed recruitment exams, district authorities such as Ranchi SDM Kumar Rajat and ADM Dhananjay Kumar arrived at the Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium to listen to the grievances of JPSC-JSSC aspirants.
Expressing a willingness to resolve the standoff through direct communication, the district officers initiated a dialogue with the gathered youth.
"We came to speak with our younger brothers about how we can assist them in their preparations for the future," Ranchi Sadar SDO Rajat Kumar said on Thursday.
On Thursday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi spoke with JPSC-JSSC aspirants via a phone call, promising that he would raise the concern with the state government. Congress is an ally in the Hemant Soren-led government in Jharkhand.
(With Agencies Inputs)