- Jharkhand govt panel failed to persuade students to end protest despite six talks
- Students demand CBI probe into recruitment exam irregularities, refuse to withdraw protest
- Govt agreed to 98% of demands, except the CBI probe request by protesting students
Failing to persuade agitating students to withdraw their protest despite six rounds of talks, a Jharkhand government panel on Sunday said it is an unfortunate development as the authorities have agreed to most of their demands.
The committee was addressing the media after two hours of meeting following the students' announcement that they will not withdraw the agitation till their demand for a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in recruitment exams is met.
The panel comprises Higher and Technical Education Minister Sudivya Kumar, Rural Development Minister Dipika Pandey Singh, Labour Minister Sanjay Prasad Yadav and Welfare Minister Chamra Linda.
"It is unfortunate that students are not ready to withdraw the agitation, though we agreed to most of their demands. There is no intention to save any culprit involved in exam irregularities. We are ready for all probes. We appeal to students and their parents to shun agitation and choose dialogue to resolve the issue," Kumar said.
The state government has also launched a portal to seek suggestions for exam reforms from students and will frame a Standard Operating Procedure for holding job exams with transparency, he said.
The panel said all security measures have been put in place in view of protesters' August 10 march to the Jharkhand assembly, and added that it will be ensured that no student is harassed.
The students protesting alleged irregularities in recruitment exams on Sunday remained adamant on their demand for a CBI probe despite Chief Minister Hemant Soren and Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar promising justice to them.
Earlier, a fresh round of talks between the government and students failed to achieve any breakthrough despite the authorities claiming that they accepted 98 per cent of their demands, barring one for a CBI probe into the JSSC-CGL exam's alleged irregularities.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
