Ranchi: The protest in Jharkhand continued to snowball on Tuesday, August 11. While more than 100 Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) workers were detained outside the state Assembly, marching in protest against police action on demonstrators agitating over alleged recruitment exam irregularities, BJP legislators raised the same issue inside the House. The uproar eventually led the Speaker to adjourn the Assembly sine die, a day before the schedule.
Reports say that ABVP workers were detained as they started their march from the old Vidhan Sabha to the New Vidhan Sabha. The RSS-affiliated student organisation had given a call for the march a day ago to protest against the Ranchi police unleashing water cannons, batons, and tear gas shells on the students. ABVP protestors were set to gherao the Assembly.
Police and protestors face off
In Monday’s clash, several protestors claimed to be injured, while the Ranchi police said 14 of their personnel had sustained injuries.
The agitation has been going on since July 25, with students and aspirants demanding transparency in recruitment examinations, reforms in the functioning of the JPSC and JSSC, cancellation of several examinations and an independent investigation by the CBI or a panel of retired high court judges from outside Jharkhand.
Where do parties stand?
While the BJP, sitting in the Opposition in the state, has been supporting the protest, it has also pointed fingers at the Congress, a partner in the Hemant Soren-led JMM government, for keeping mum.
Stepping up its attack on the state government, it dared the Congress leadership to withdraw support to the government even as the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, expressed solidarity with the students and condemned the police action against them.
Taking to X, Gandhi said, “The use of force against students protesting in Jharkhand is wrong. Students have a right to peaceful protest, and only dialogue can yield solutions. The Jharkhand government must continue to hear these students out and resolve their issues immediately.”
Soon after, CM Soren posted a couple of tweets, acknowledging the protest and offering a patient ear to the agitating aspirants. He assured them of reforms in the system and shared the link to a portal dedicated to their complaints, suggestions, and even solutions.
Aam Aadmi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal has extended support to the ongoing student protest in Jharkhand.
“I support the demands of the protesting students in Jharkhand and appeal to the government to resolve their issues immediately. Violence against students is simply unacceptable,” Kejriwal said in a post on X on Tuesday, August 11.
Meanwhile, speaking in the Vidhan Sabha on Tuesday, CM Soren accused the BJP of taking over the student protest. “The parasitic BJP once again tried to turn the youth’s movement into its own political platform yesterday. Matters concerning students will be discussed with the students themselves, and my young friends in Jharkhand will certainly get justice,” he said.
With agency inputs
