Amid growing protests by students over alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren urged the agitating youth to maintain peace and resolve their concerns through dialogue, saying the state government was approaching their demands with “seriousness and sensitivity”.
In a post on X issued as thousands of students took to the streets, Soren said students had every democratic right to raise their voices over genuine grievances and that the government was duty-bound to hear them and take appropriate action.
Describing the youth as “the future of Jharkhand”, the chief minister said his government had no intention of overlooking their concerns. He called for a collaborative approach to resolving the issue.
“I will reiterate my point: let us resolve this issue together through dialogue and trust,” Soren said.
He pointed out that senior ministers had been holding discussions with representatives of the protesting students and assured that the government would take firm action on their demands.
Soren also said action had already been initiated against individuals found responsible for irregularities in recent days. He maintained that those found guilty would not be protected because of their position or influence.
The chief minister said the government was working towards a recruitment examination system that would be more transparent, technology-driven, secure and accountable. He urged students to participate in the reform process.
According to Soren, the government's objective was not limited to resolving the immediate controversy. It also wanted to address structural weaknesses in the recruitment examination mechanism to ensure that candidates did not encounter similar problems in the future.
“Your participation in this change is the most important,” he said, underlining the role of students in improving the examination system.
Soren also expressed appreciation for administrative and police personnel deployed during Monday's protest, saying they had handled the situation with restraint and sensitivity.
His appeal came against the backdrop of a major student mobilisation in Ranchi, where thousands of protesters marched towards the Jharkhand Assembly. The demonstrators broke through several layers of barricading and reached the vicinity of Assembly Gate No. 1.
Police used water cannons, tear gas and lathi-charge to prevent the protesters from moving further towards the Assembly complex.
The chief minister also alleged that opposition parties were attempting to give a political colour to the student agitation. While maintaining that the students' protest was fundamentally peaceful, he accused certain opposition leaders and other individuals of attempting to disturb the atmosphere and influence students for political gains.
Soren urged the protesting students to remain focused on their demands and not be swayed by what he described as politically motivated narratives surrounding the agitation.
Also read: Jharkhand protest: Students break barricades, face water cannons
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