Jharkhand Student Protest Enters Day 19 as Recruitment Row Deepens

Protests by aspirants of jobs in Jharkhand, protesting against any wrongdoing in recruitment examination, have reached the 19th day on Wednesday, while the protesters say that they will step up their agitation till their demands are met.
Taking the name of the JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch, students are calling for more transparency in the recruitment exams conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission and the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission. They also called for scrapping of a number of recruitment exams, and a probe in the matter by the CBI or a panel of retired high court judges from other states.

Rising Police Intimidation Causes Tension to Escalate
The tension further rose when police employed lathi-charge, water guns and teargas against the march of students towards the State Assembly building on Monday. Protesters alleged that many students were injured in the process, whereas the Ranchi police claimed that 14 policemen were hurt during the conflict.
The incident caused political turmoil as the BJP called for bandh in the state on Tuesday. BJP blamed the government led by JMM of oppressing the young protesters and demanded a probe into the examination malpractices.

Fasting Increases Pressure
Besides, the lengthy demonstration has also put the health of the protesters at risk. At present, six students are fasting indefinitely while two of them are in Ranchi Sadar Hospital.
Devendra Nath Mahto, who is a leader of JLKM and has been fasting for about 10 days, is under medical supervision. One more protester, Rahul Kranti, has been admitted to the hospital due to deterioration of his health condition during fasting.

Government Negotiations End without Resolution
The sixth round of negotiations between the government and protesters on Sunday did not end with any resolution. Chief Minister Hemant Soren has claimed that his government is going to change the recruitment procedure and promised protesters to cancel the 14th JPSC examination.
However, the BJP and the government keep blaming each other regarding the demonstration. In addition, the issue has caused disruption of the Assembly activities, which were adjourned sine die one day ahead of schedule on Tuesday.