New Delhi: The Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Tuesday (August 18) welcomed the consensus reached between student protesters
and the Hemant Soren-led Jharkhand government. ON Monday night, the Jharkhand government announced the cancellation of the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission-Combined Graduate Level (JSSC-CGL) exam and all recruitment tests conducted by outsourced agency TSR Data Processing Pvt Ltd (TDPL) since 2014, a key demand of the protesters. The protest was then called off. Hailing the Soren government, Gandhi said that it chose the path of "dialogue". and praised students for exercising restraint. "A consensus has been reached between the students of Jharkhand and the state government, and the students have ended their hunger strike - it was heartening to hear this news. Chief Minister Hemant Soren ji and the Jharkhand government chose the path of dialogue and arrived at a solution. The students exercised restraint and made their point heard," the Congress MP stated.
He further asserted that students' voice should be heard. "This is the right way - when students raise questions, they should get answers. We stand with every student in the country. And we will uproot and transform this recovery system - so that every student gets the full reward of their hard work and the right to fair competition. This system will change across the entire country - now a framework will be established that propels students forward, rather than holding them back," Gandhi added.
Jharkhand Student's Protest:
Jharkhand's 25-day student agitation is likely to end on Tuesday after the Soren government announced the cancellation of the JSSC-CGL examination and all examinations conducted by the TDPL.
The decision, announced after a special Cabinet meeting on Monday, prompted student leaders Devendra Nath Mahto, Umme Habiba and Rahul Kranti to end their hunger strikes.
Announcing the cancellation late on Monday, Soren said an exam reforms committee headed by senior IAS officer Amitabh Kaushal would recommend measures to strengthen the recruitment examination process.
The government has also said it will overhaul the examination system and strictly enforce the law against unfair means in recruitment exams. However, the state government may face another protest as around 2,000 people feared the government's decision to cancel the exam could put their jobs at risk.
