Ranchi (Jharkhand) [India], August 22 : Launching a sharp attack on the state government over recruitment exam irregularities, former Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren accused the administration of cheating the state's youth and failing to bring transparency to the examination process.
Expressing his pain over the situation facing students in the state, Champai Soren recalled the era of the Jharkhand statehood movement and stated that in the last 26 years since the formation of Jharkhand, no error-free exam process has been established.
He alleged that in the last seven years, the current administration has failed to bring transparency to even a single recruitment exam.
"Today, we have come here to talk about the situation of Jharkhand and what is happening with the students. The way this government has cheated the youth, I am pained to hear it. I recall the time of the Jharkhand formation movement. In the last 7 years, this government has not been able to bring transparency even in a single exam," he said.
Soren asserted that students were putting forward their demands through democratic means, raising a single unified demand for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into examination anomalies.
However, he accused the government of playing tricks instead of ensuring an impartial inquiry. He noted that after sitting for four hours in a cabinet meeting, the government announced the cancellation of the exam.
"Students are putting their views and demands by adopting the democratic way. There has been only one demand: a CBI probe, but the government played a trick. They cancelled the exam after sitting hours in the cabinet. JPSC Chairperson and others have already resigned. This is all beacause wrong was done," Champai Soren said.
Pointing out that top officials, including the JPSC chairperson, had already resigned due to the mistakes and wrongs committed, Soren questioned the government's intentions, alleging that all these moves, including announcing everything except a CBI inquiry, were designed to weaken the case.
Soren further highlighted the plight of the candidates, stating that question marks arise in every recruitment process. He noted that students had suspended their agitation for two months following the government's announcement, only for a stay order to arrive even before the students could reach their homes.
"What does the government want to show? They announce everything except the CBI. Questions are being raised in every recruitment. Students suspended their agitation for two months after the government's accouncement, and even before students reached their home, stay order came," Soren said.
Soren's remarks come against the backdrop of escalating unrest in the state. Hundreds of students under the banner of the JPSC-JSSC Reform Forum gathered at Gandhi Maidan in Ranchi to protest against the Jharkhand High Court's stay on the cancellation of JPSC examinations and appointments.
The demonstration turned tense when police personnel seized an effigy of Chief Minister Hemant Soren from the protesters. As scuffles broke out, police resorted to a lathi-charge and used mild force to disperse the crowd, citing that demonstrators had violated the designated route.
Despite heavy police deployment, water cannons, and officers chasing away protesters, students repeatedly regrouped across the large ground to continue their demonstration.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is set to hear a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by social worker Harisharan Devgan seeking an independent and time-bound CBI probe into alleged irregularities surrounding the 14th JPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination conducted on April 19.
The PIL, which seeks the cancellation of the exam and a fresh test, follows widespread outrage after a carbon copy of an OMR answer sheet went viral, showing a candidate qualifying despite allegedly attempting only 48 out of 100 questions in Paper I.