Jharkhand students' protest: Rahul Gandhi urges Hemant Soren to meet students and resolve exam row

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has urged Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren to personally meet representatives of protesting students and take appropriate steps to resolve their concerns over alleged irregularities in recruitment examinationsIn a letter to Soren dated August 14 Gandhi said the students protest had remained peaceful and described their demands as legitimate He also said young people were Indias future and called for support for them during the ongoing disputeThe Congress is part of the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morchaled government in the stateRahul Gandhi asks Soren to meet protesting studentsGandhi said the right to peaceful protest was an important part of Indias democratic system and that his party supported students who had been protesting against alleged paper leaks and irregularities in the education systemWe have therefore offered our full support to students protesting paper leaks and irregularities in the education system over the last few months the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha saidHe also criticised the broader education system and alleged that political interests had affected its functioningIt is also our belief that the Indian education system has been captured by the RSS and BJP and transformed into a tool for the exploitation and oppression of students It is no longer the robust knowledge system that it used to be a decade ago Rahul Gandhi saidStudents continue protest despite government talksGandhi acknowledged that the Jharkhand government had initiated discussions with the protesting students through a committee constituted by the chief ministerHe said there had been agreement on several of the students demands but noted that the agitation had continued with some protesters remaining on indefinite hunger strikeI am writing to suggest that you personally meet with representatives of the protesting students This will help reinforce the governments commitment to resolve their remaining concerns the former Congress chief saidPlease do your utmost to hear them out and take appropriate action towards the resolution of this issue Gandhi saidProtesters seek CBI probe into recruitment examsThe protest is being led by the JPSCJSSC Reforms Manch with students demanding a Central Bureau of Investigation CBI probe into alleged irregularities in recruitment examinationsThe protesters are also seeking cancellation of the JSSCCGL examinationThe students have accused the ruling JMMCongress alliance of failing to take tangible action on their demands They have alleged that the government was engaging in political calculations over issues affecting job aspirantsThe protesters had on Saturday announced plans to gherao the chief ministers residence on August 20 They also appealed to students from across Jharkhand to gather in Ranchi for the demonstrationThe proposed protest has added pressure on the state government to address concerns surrounding recruitment examinations and the wider selection processGovernment announces recruitment exam reformsThe Jharkhand government has sought to reassure job aspirants by announcing measures aimed at making recruitment examinations more transparent and secureAmong the measures announced are a timebound annual examination calendar technologysecured examinations timely publication of answer keys and OMR sheets and multilevel accountability in the recruitment processThe government has also launched a campaign to collect suggestions from students teachers educationists and parents on possible reforms to the examination systemDispute puts focus on recruitment processThe students agitation comes amid wider concerns over the conduct of competitive and recruitment examinations including allegations of paper leaks irregularities and delaysFor candidates preparing for government jobs disruptions in examination schedules and disputes over the validity of recruitment tests can result in significant delays in the selection processThe government has indicated that the proposed reforms are intended to strengthen the recruitment system and improve transparency However protesters continue to press for action on their specific demands including a CBI investigation and cancellation of the JSSCCGL examinationWith inputs from PTI