New Delhi [India], August 13 : The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) on Thursday staged protests across several cities over alleged irregularities and paper leaks in Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) examinations, demanding a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the matter and strict action against those responsible.
In New Delhi, a large number of students and ABVP workers staged a protest outside Jharkhand Bhawan, demanding that the Jharkhand government take concrete steps to restore the credibility of the examination system.
Similar protests were held in Lucknow, Kolkata, Guwahati, Agartala, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Surat, Gorakhpur, Jodhpur, Kota, Raipur, Bhubaneswar, Varanasi and Prayagraj, among other places and university campuses, the ABVP said.
The student organisation said the protests were held to press for an impartial and high-level CBI investigation into alleged irregularities in JPSC and JSSC examinations and strict action against those found responsible.
The ABVP also demanded the immediate cancellation of the JSSC CGL examination, citing questions over its integrity, and called for fresh examinations where irregularities have been reported.
The protests came amid ongoing demonstrations by students in Jharkhand over alleged irregularities in JPSC and JSSC examinations. The ABVP said students protesting peacefully on August 10 and 11 were subjected to lathi-charge, water cannons and arrests.
The organisation also raised concerns over repeated changes in the SIT constituted to investigate the matter, saying this had raised questions over the credibility of the probe.
ABVP National General Secretary Virendra Singh Solanki said the organisation has demanded a CBI probe into the entire matter and cancellation and re-conduct of examinations whose integrity has come under serious question.
"Transparency and credibility in the examination system are directly linked to the future of students. The government should take immediate positive action on the students' demands and ensure necessary institutional reforms in the examination system," Solanki said.
ABVP National Secretary Aditya Takiyar said students in Jharkhand were fighting for their rights and future and that the organisation would continue its "democratic and peaceful struggle" until appropriate action was taken on their demands.
ABVP Delhi unit secretary Sarthak Sharma said the protests across Delhi and other parts of the country showed that students nationwide stood in solidarity with those protesting in Jharkhand.
He urged the government to act sensitively on the issue concerning students' future and ensure a fair investigation into the alleged irregularities.