Job aspirants affiliated with the 'JPSC JSSC Reform Manch' assembled at the Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium in Ranchi on Monday, wearing customised white T-shirts marked "VOLUNTEER" as they prepared to march toward the Jharkhand State Assembly for a planned 'Vidhan Sabha Gherao' demonstration, following the breakdown of talks with the Hemant Soren government on Sunday. The deadlock centres on the aspirants' insistence on a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into alleged irregularities and the complete cancellation of the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) Combined Graduate Level (CGL) examination— demands the state executive has firmly rejected.
Despite appeals for dialogue from Chief Minister Hemant Soren and Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar, agitators confirmed that the march from the old Assembly building to the new one would proceed peacefully. Student leader Sanjay Mehta emphasised that while moral support was pouring in from across all districts, the movement would continue until every demand — including a proposed recruitment calendar and student-led examination reform models — was met in full. Student representative Devendra Nath Mahto, who has been on an indefinite hunger strike for eight days, urged families and youth throughout the state to assemble at the Old Assembly Ground at 10:30 am, describing the demonstration as a decisive battle against paper leaks and institutional corruption.
The agitation in Ranchi has entered its 17th day, with six students currently on an indefinite hunger strike. Protesting leaders strongly rejected the government’s assertion that 98 per cent of their demands had been addressed, alleging that officials had agreed to scrap only three of the 13 examinations slated for cancellation. On the other hand, a government panel including Higher and Technical Education Minister Sudivya Kumar maintained that the state had conceded to most points and urged the students to return to negotiations, asserting there was no intention to shield guilty parties.
To address the grievances, the state administration agreed to cancel the 14th Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) examination and proposed an Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation into associated financial irregularities. In addition to these, the other measures provided by the government include setting up fast track courts to file the charge sheet within 90 days, constituting an expert group to implement reforms, which will include members from IIT-ISM Dhanbad, IIM Ranchi, and XLRI Jamshedpur, and setting up a panel of judges led by a retired High Court judge to look into the JSSC-CGL exam process. The feedback portal was also created to set guidelines for future recruitment procedures. Nonetheless, the government is adamant about not conducting any CBI investigation in relation to the JSSC-CGL exam.
The crisis has triggered significant administrative upheaval within the JPSC. On Sunday, Governor Gangwar accepted the resignations of three commission members — Ajeeta Bhattacharya, Anima Hansda, and Jamal Ahmad — following summonses issued by the Jharkhand Crime Investigation Department (CID) regarding paper leak allegations. Their resignations follow that of former JPSC chairman L Khiangte on July 22, who resigned prior to CID searches at his official residence and has since undergone multiple lengthy interrogations. Police have arrested 19 individuals so far, while the JPSC has postponed its Combined Civil Services Mains Examination.
In response to the planned march, police authorities have placed Ranchi under tight security. Prohibitory orders restricting public gatherings within a 750-metre radius of the Vidhan Sabha building remain in force, with similar restrictions enacted in Jamshedpur. Additional Director General of Police Manoj Kaushik and Ranchi SSP Rakesh Ranjan confirmed extensive barricading across the capital, urging student leaders to ensure agitators maintain discipline and prevent anti-social elements from infiltrating the crowds. While most schools in Ranchi remain closed as a precaution, student groups have alleged that police forces are actively stopping hundreds of aspirants travelling from regional districts from entering the capital.
Also read: Jharkhand exam stir: Mahto's health worsens as govt resumes talks
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