As the student protest has entered its 24th day, pressure over the Jharkhand government has been mounting. Coalition party Congress has sent out a message to Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and its ally in the state’s ruling coalition. Rahul Gandhi, the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha, has written to Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, urging him to hear the protesters out and take an appropriate action.In a letter dated August 14, Gandhi said the protesters, which entered day 24 on Monday, have been peaceful and student demands are legitimate.
In the letter Gandhi said, “the Congress party believes that the right to peaceful protest as enshrined in the Constitution of India is one of the central pillars of our democracy. We have, therefore, offered our full support to students protesting paper leaks and irregularities in the education system over the last few months.”
Stating that the Jharkhand government has become the dialogue with the students, he added, “Job aspirants fromJharkhand have been staging a sit-out protest in Ranchi demanding a probe into the alleged irregularities in the 14th Jharkhand Public Service Commission civil service examination, the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission combinedgraduate level examination and other recruitment tests.”
Earlier said Saturday the protesting students had demanded Rahul Gandhi to withdraw his support from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led coalition if the Chief Minister was not listening to him. They also said that Gandhi had expressed support for them but no concrete action had been taken. Besides, they have demanded the resignation of Soren, who is serving as the fourth time CM of the state, and announced that they would protest outside his residence on August 20.
Job aspirants in Ranchi have been protesting since July 29, alleging that the seats for the examinations were sold to candidates, including those from outside Jharkhand, for Rs 50 lakh to one crore. They have been demanding the cancellation of the 14th JPSC Civil Service Examination and an independent probe into the irregularities in the recruitment test, either by the CBI or a panel of retired High Court judges from outside the state.