Amid an ongoing protest over alleged irregularities in a recruitment exam in India’s Jharkhand, members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) clashed with police while taking a march toward the residence of Chief Minister Hemant Soren. When they tried to push past a barricade on Friday, police stopped them; a scuffle broke out between the two sides and 8 to 10 protesters were detained, an official said.
The ABVP’s Jharkhand unit organised the march in solidarity with students protesting alleged irregularities in the recruitment exam. It was to begin from Ranchi’s Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee University and head toward the chief minister’s residence.
Job seekers have questioned the fairness of the exam since the results of the Jharkhand Public Service Commission’s 14th civil service preliminary exam were published. On 25 July they began protesting at Ranchi’s Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium under the banner of a reform platform for the Jharkhand Public Service Commission and the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission. For two straight weeks since, they have protested to demand the exam be cancelled, an independent investigation into the irregularities, and reform of the recruitment process.
One of the protesters’ demands is that the whole matter be investigated by a central investigating agency or a committee of retired High Court judges from outside Jharkhand. They have also demanded reform and transparency in the recruitment process of the two commissions.
Political pressure on the state government is also rising over the protest. BJP legislators have demonstrated in the Jharkhand assembly demanding a central investigation. The opposition alleges that students have no confidence in an investigation by the state’s Criminal Investigation Department and Anti-Corruption Bureau. The government, however, says the investigation is progressing and that 19 people have so far been arrested in the case.
The state government has also moved to hold talks with the students. On Saturday a delegation of the protesting job seekers sat down with the government. The government said it would take steps to reform the recruitment system with students’ input. But the protesters say they will continue until their main demands are met.
Six protesters are meanwhile continuing a hunger strike. The protesters have also announced a programme to besiege the Jharkhand assembly on 10 August. The protest that began over alleged exam irregularities is thus becoming a major political and administrative challenge for the state government, Indian media reported.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report