Jharkhand: AISA joins students' protest in Ranchi, warns CM Hemant Soren

All India Students' Association (AISA) president Neha Bora on Friday joined the job aspirants' protest in Ranchi, Jharkhand, over the irregularities in the JPSC, JSSC CGL and other competitive examinations in the State.

All India Students' Association (AISA) president Neha Bora on Friday joined the job aspirants' protest in Ranchi, Jharkhand, over the alleged irregularities in the JPSC, JSSC CGL and other competitive examinations in the State. AISA, which was also part of the protest against the NEET-UG paper leak at Jantar Mantar, has announced a Vidhan Sabha march in Jharkhand today. JPSC JSSC Reform Manch, spearheading the agitation in the state, has said that the march has "nothing to do with them."

Speaking at the protest the AISA president offered her total support to the ongoing protest and demanded a re-exam of the 14th JPSC. "I understand the pain one feels in the body when friends go on a hunger strike. So, big congratulations to all the friends sitting on hunger strike in this stadium. The whole country is watching the struggle you are doing. From this platform, I want to give my solidarity and support to the demands of the students sitting on hunger strike here. The first demand we support is regarding the JPSC exam, where heavy corruption has come to light. JPSC, which has seen scam after scam since the first and second exams, and today in the 14th JPSC as well, we see that it is notorious across the country that if there is a JPSC exam, there will be corruption. To have a proper system for conducting these JPSC exams, the 14th JPSC should be cancelled immediately. In its place, a re-exam date and schedule should be announced so that recruitment can happen at the right time. This is the first demand we support. The second demand is that the corruption in JSSC CGL, the brunt of which students have to bear, should also be cancelled and a re-exam should be conducted immediately," she said.

The protesters at the Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium in Ranchi demanded cancellation of all JSSC CGL, JSSC JE, and PGT exams after 2019, a CBI investigation into the irregularities, strict action against the "mafias and agencies involved," disclosure of category-wise cut-offs (UR, EWS, BC-I, BC-II, SC, ST), OMR copies, and response sheets for transparency regarding the process and a recruitment calendar modelled after UPSC/SSC standards. JMM MP Vijay Kumar Hansdak told ANI in Delhi, "Our government believes that a solution will be found through dialogue. We can assure you that the system will be strengthened going forward. Students will get justice, and the system will be improved."

Hitting out at the BJP, he added, "In Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, tribal communities have been protesting for months. If the central government or the BJP government there had been sensitive, this wouldn't have happened. Their stubbornness persists, but they don't shy away from blaming others either." Congress leader Rahul Gandhi spoke to protesters on Thursday and assured them of taking up their demands with the state government. Congress is also part of the JMM-led coalition government in Jharkhand.

BJP Jharkhand President and Rajya Sabha MP Aditya Sahu accused Rahul Gandhi of "drama" and asked to put CM Hemant Soren under pressure for a CBI investigation into the case. The BJP leader said, "Rahul Gandhi should stop the drama in Jharkhand. If he wants to talk, he should have spoken to the government and the Chief Minister. He should put pressure on the government regarding the students' demand for a CBI investigation. If he has even a shred of morality, he should listen to our students who have been protesting. He (Rahul Gandhi) should demand that the government accept the students' demands and take immediate action."

Union Minister Sanjay Seth also slammed Rahul Gandhi for a delay in expressing support to the protest. He said, "Half a month has passed. After half a month, he (Rahul Gandhi) remembered that thousands of students were also sitting in Jharkhand, so he sent a video message from there. Didn't he have time to go there? Didn't he have time to stand with the students of Jharkhand? Even after half a month, the Jharkhand government, which is dependent on his support, has not taken even half a step."

"What are the students demanding? A CBI investigation, an ED investigation, and the cancellation of all examinations. That is what the investigation is about. Rahul Gandhi, you spoke about supporting them, right? You could have immediately asked the Chief Minister to order a CBI investigation and an ED investigation. Why didn't you? These are crocodile tears. Jharkhand has understood your double standards, and the country already knows them. Even today, we say that nothing less than a CBI investigation and an ED investigation is acceptable. The students must get justice," Sanjay Seth said. The JPSC JSSC Reform Manch, leading the protest, has finalised an 11-member delegation to hold talks with the Jharkhand government over their demands. The delegation comprises eight student representatives, one lawyer and two technical experts. (ANI)