The dispute between candidates seeking jobs through the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and the Staff Selection Commission (SSC), and the Jharkhand government, has taken a serious turn. With talks held by the government having failed, student leaders have made clear that they will not back down under any circumstances until a CBI investigation is ordered into their demands. As part of this escalation, they have announced a massive march to the Jharkhand Assembly on August 10, involving thousands of candidates.
Even as the government has taken several key decisions — including cancelling the 14th JPSC examination, ordering an inquiry into the irregularities, and introducing reforms to the recruitment system — students remain dissatisfied. They have demanded a CBI investigation into the irregularities found in the JSSC-CGL and other examinations, along with the complete cancellation of the CGL exam. Student leaders reiterated that there would be no question of compromise until a CBI probe is announced into their demands, reaffirming their plan to lay siege to the Assembly on August 10.
Responding to the demand for cancellation of the CGL exam, Jharkhand Minister Sudivya Kumar Sonu stated that the examination had been conducted under the supervision of the High Court and the Supreme Court, and that results had already been declared, with eligible candidates having joined their respective jobs. He explained that the government could not, therefore, unilaterally cancel the exam.
As an alternative, he said the government had proposed setting up a monitoring committee headed by a retired judge — a proposal students, however, rejected outright, insisting that no inquiry short of a CBI investigation would be acceptable to them. The government, for its part, maintains that it has already agreed to 98 percent of the students’ demands.