New Delhi: Amid the BJP’s calls for a bandh over police lathicharge on protestors, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren sought to appeal to the youth on Monday, August 10, through two long posts on social media.
Taking to X, he wrote, “I have always believed that improvements come through interaction, which is incomplete without your cooperation.
“We want to make the examination system more transparent, technology-enabled, secure, and accountable. To that end, I call on all students in each coaching institute, school, or college to send in their suggestions, the problems they face, or if they can recommend a solution,” he wrote. The post mentions samvad.jharkhand.gov.in as the portal to voice opinions.
“In a democracy, it is your right to express your views, and it is the government’s responsibility to respect your voice. The government has heard you. Our senior ministers have been in constant dialogue with you…and action will be taken on your demands. In the past few days, you have seen that the government has spared no one, no matter who the guilty party is. Our clear objective is to eliminate such shortcomings in the system so that no student has to face trouble in the future,” he said.
Cautioning the youth against vested interests, he said, “I also understand that amidst your peaceful movement, some people from the opposition have tried to spoil the atmosphere and mislead students for political gain. I appeal to all of you not to fall into the trap of any such political narrative. You are the future of Jharkhand. It is not about ignoring your voice, but listening to it and resolving your problems—that is our responsibility. I will reiterate my point: let us resolve this issue together through dialogue and trust.”
Soren’s outreach came close on the heels of senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi taking exception to the police action against protestors marching towards the state Assembly earlier in the day. Gandhi’s statement carries weight as his party is an ally in the state’s ruling coalition.
Use of force against students wrong: Rahul
“The use of force against students protesting in Jharkhand is wrong,” tweeted senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday, August 10, amid alleged police action against protestors demonstrating over alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC).
The comment is significant given that his party is a coalition partner in the state government, and the BJP has questioned Gandhi’s silence over the developments in Jharkhand.
In a post written in Hindi on X, Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said, “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.”
The ABVP had also questioned the Congress’s stance, saying, “The silence of the Congress, which speaks of students’ rights and democratic protests elsewhere but remains a partner in the ruling dispensation in Jharkhand, also exposes its double standards.”
In Delhi, BJP MP Tejasvi Surya said, “I want to ask Rahul Gandhi—is your demand for justice one-sided? Are the students of Jharkhand not students who deserve justice? Do their demands not deserve justice? Rahul Gandhi should stop these double standards and this hypocrisy.”
BJP MP Jagdambika Pal also questioned Gandhi’s silence over the Jharkhand students’ protest.
“If Rahul Gandhi is so concerned about students and youngsters, then it has been 17 days that students have been sitting on a hunger strike in Ranchi over irregularities in the JPSC examination, but he has not intervened,” he said.
What happened at the site
Many protestors alleged they were injured in the police action, which took place when they reached the final barricade near Jagannathpur Temple on the road to the Jharkhand Assembly, which is in session.
Police in Ranchi used water cannons, lobbed tear gas shells, and lathi-charged job aspirants as they breached barricades and attempted to reach the state Assembly.
ABVP National General Secretary Virendra Singh Solanki said, “Instead of addressing genuine concerns, the government has chosen the path of lathi-charge, water cannons and arrests against students exercising their democratic rights. This is highly condemnable and exposes the government’s anti-student attitude,” he said.
ABVP’s ‘peaceful gherao’, BJP’s bandh
The BJP has called for a Jharkhand bandh on Tuesday in protest against the alleged police brutality and lathi-charge. This follows clashes between the police and the JPSC-JSSC aspirants during their ‘Vidhan Sabha Gherao’ march in Ranchi.
Meanwhile, the ABVP has planned a peaceful gherao at the state Assembly on Tuesday.
In a statement, the student wing of RSS said thousands of students are expected to march peacefully from the Old Assembly Tinkonia Ground to the Legislative Assembly and raise their demands before the government.
The ABVP said it strongly condemns the lathi-charge, use of water cannons and arrests of students protesting against irregularities in JPSC and JSSC examinations in Jharkhand.
Reports of action against and arrests of media personnel during the protest are equally concerning, the ABVP said, adding that the use of force against students who are raising serious questions about the credibility of competitive examinations exposes the “anti-student approach” of the Jharkhand government.
ABVP asserted that it has consistently stood with students demanding transparency and accountability in JPSC and JSSC examinations.
Prakash Tuti, State Secretary, ABVP Jharkhand, said the lathi-charge and use of water cannons against students who were peacefully marching towards the Legislative Assembly was “shameful and unacceptable”.
With agency inputs
