NEW DELHI: The Jharkhand government on Friday held talks with representatives of the JPSC/JSSC Reforms Manch and said it was willing to consider the demands of students protesting alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations.
A delegation of ministers met representatives of the protesting students, with both sides describing the meeting as positive. State minister Sudivya Kumar said the government was prepared to consider the students’ demands sympathetically.
“We met the delegation of student protesters. The government is ready to consider their demands sympathetically,” Kumar said after the meeting.
The talks came amid a 14-day-long agitation over alleged irregularities in examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and other recruitment bodies.
According to the JPSC/JSSC Reforms Manch, four of the five members of the government-appointed panel attended the meeting. They were ministers Sudivya Kumar, Dipika Pandey Singh, Chamra Linda and Sanjay Prasad Yadav.
The protesters have been demanding the cancellation of the 14th JPSC Civil Services Examination and an independent investigation into the alleged irregularities. They have sought a probe either by the CBI or by a committee comprising retired High Court judges from outside Jharkhand.
The agitation entered its 14th day on Friday, with six protesters continuing their hunger strike.
Earlier, the students submitted a fresh 10-member delegation to the state government for further talks after officials objected to their earlier 11-member panel, which included an advocate and two technical experts, according to the Manch.
The new delegation comprises student leaders Ravindra Paswan, Piyush Kumar, Rajesh Prasad, Neetu Kujur, Ankit Raj, Kartik Soren, Shalu Kumari, Ravindra Kumar Ravi, Anand Kumar and Ankit Kumar.
The latest round of talks is aimed at finding a way to resolve the students’ concerns and bring an end to the ongoing agitation over the recruitment examination process.
