Ranchi (Jharkhand) [India], August 7 : Jharkhand Minister Sudivya Kumar Sonu on Friday said that the state government is committed to seriously deliberating on the demands of JPSC-JSSC aspirants after a meeting with their delegation amid the ongoing protest over alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations.
The meeting between a five-member state government delegation and a 10-member delegation of protesting aspirants was held at the State Guest House in Ranchi. The talks were conducted against the backdrop of a 14-day-long agitation by candidates at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium over alleged irregularities in the 14th Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) Civil Services Examination and the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission Combined Graduate Level (JSSC-CGL) examination.
After the meeting, Minister Sudivya Kumar Sonu said, "We had a meeting with the students in a cordial atmosphere. We understood the demands of students. The government is committed to deliberate on the students' demand, seriously."
Student leader Ravindra Paswan, who was part of the aspirants' delegation, termed the discussion "positive" and said that the government representatives were made aware of their demands.
"A very positive discussion was held. This was the first phase of discussions. We made them aware of our demands," Paswan said.
He added, "This was our first meeting. It felt very positive. Sitting with everyone felt like family. It was a really positive meeting. We are confident that the government, the Chief Minister and all ministers will consider our demands genuine."
Earlier, before leaving for the meeting, Paswan warned that the protest would continue if the demands were not accepted.
"All our demands are essential; we will not consider the dialogue successful if even one of those demands is not accepted, and we will continue our protest," Paswan said.
The aspirants have divided their demands into three major categories -- cancellation of examinations, investigation into alleged irregularities and reforms in the functioning of JPSC and JSSC.
"Under cancellation, we are mainly demanding cancellation of JSSC and all exams conducted by TDPL agency. We are also demanding cancellation of all those exams which had the involvement of Abhay Tiwari. As far as investigation is concerned, we are demanding both CBI and ED investigation. Reforms need to be made to JPSC and JSSC," Paswan said.
The protesters are demanding cancellation of the 14th JPSC Civil Services Examination and an independent probe into the alleged irregularities either by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or a panel of retired High Court judges from outside the state.
The revised 10-member delegation of aspirants included Ravindra Paswan, Piyush Kumar, Rajesh Prasad, Neetu Kujur, Ankit Raj, Kartik Soren, Shalu Kumari, Ravindra Kumar Ravi, Anand Kumar and Ankit Kumar.
The government team that held talks included ministers Dipika Pandey Singh, Sudivya Kumar Sonu, Chamra Linda, Sanjay Prasad and Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Ajoy Kumar Singh.
Earlier, the government had rejected an 11-member delegation proposed by the protesters, which included an advocate and two technical experts. The revised panel comprised only student representatives.
Meanwhile, earlier in the day, All India Students' Association (AISA) president Neha Bora, who joined the protest, alleged that ink was thrown at her at the protest site in Ranchi. She claimed that the incident took place while students were taking out a march from Birsa Munda Stadium.
"Today we were taking out a march from Birsa Munda Stadium. When I was standing there along with other colleagues, a man identified as Amarnath Pandey (26), who is also an RSS member, threw ink on me. To justify his criminal act, he did the same thing which people affiliated with the RSS do - chanted Jai Shri Ram. People at the protest caught him and handed him over to police," Bora alleged.
The man accused of throwing ink at Bora was taken into police custody.
Reacting to the incident, Bora said, "On July 20, tear gas shells were thrown at us, pellet guns were used against us. When we did not get scared, then what can this ordinary ink do to us?"
She also demanded transparency in recruitment examinations across the country.
"Every examination conducted in Jharkhand and across the country must be conducted in a transparent and accountable manner by government institutions. Whenever a paper leak occurs, the responsibility cannot simply be passed on to private agencies. The concerned government authorities must be held accountable," she said.
Bora further demanded the removal of private agencies facing allegations of irregularities and corruption from the examination process.
"We demand that all private agencies involved in the system and facing allegations of irregularities and corruption must be removed," she said, adding that AISA would support the student call for further action on August 10.
The protest has also drawn political attention, with Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren earlier stating that the government was ready for dialogue and committed to implementing reforms to address student concerns.
"We have already specified a channel of communication. We are ready to talk. The government is keen to understand the issues faced by every student. We are now trying to take the students' wishes beyond the confines of Jaipal Singh Stadium," Soren had said.
The Chief Minister had added, "Our goal is to move forward with significant, robust reforms that address these student aspirations in a manner that aligns with their needs."