- Jharkhand government held first formal talks with protesting students on JPSC exam issues
- Government expressed readiness to consider student demands sympathetically, said education minister
- Students demand cancellation of 14th JPSC exam amid protests over recruitment irregularities
The Jharkhand government has said it is willing to consider the demands of protesting students "sympathetically" after holding its first formal round of talks with representatives of the agitation while student leaders made it clear that their movement would continue until all their demands -- including the cancellation of the 14th Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) examination--are accepted.
The negotiations, held at the State Guest House in Ranchi on Friday evening, came as protests over alleged irregularities in the JPSC recruitment process entered their 14th day. In a parallel development, the state CID has summoned three serving members of the JPSC for questioning.
Speaking after the meeting, Jharkhand Higher and Technical Education Minister Sudivya Kumar said the government had listened carefully to the concerns raised by the students.
"We met a delegation of protesting students. The government is sensitive to their demands and is ready to consider them sympathetically," Kumar said.
Despite what both sides described as positive discussions, the student leaders insisted that the agitation would continue. According to news agency PTI, the students have planned to march to the state assembly on August 10 if demands were not met by Sunday.
"This was the first round of talks. We informed the government about our demands. Our demands were heard and positive discussions took place. But the movement will continue," a student leader said.
What The Protesters Want
The agitation has centred on allegations of irregularities in the 14th JPSC recruitment examination.
The protesters have demanded the cancellation of the 14th JPSC examination, an independent investigation into the alleged irregularitiesA probe either by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or by a panel of retired High Court judges from outside Jharkhand.
The protests have continued for two weeks, with six demonstrators remaining on an indefinite hunger strike on Friday.
Earlier on Friday, the JPSC/JSSC Reforms Manch submitted a revised list of representatives for the talks after the government objected to its original 11-member delegation, which included an advocate and two technical experts.
The government accepted the revised panel before initiating the first round of discussions.
