CPI(ML) Liberation Jharkhand State Secretary Comrade Manoj Bhakt congratulated the protesting students on behalf of the party on the victory of their struggle. The Jharkhand government on August 17 announced the cancellation of the JSSC-CGL examination and all recruitment tests conducted by outsourced agency TDPL since 2014. The government also announced a CID investigation into corruption and irregularities in all recruitment examinations conducted in the state since 2014.
Comrade Manoj Bhakt said that CPI(ML) Liberation and its student organisation, All India Students’ Association (AISA), which was part of the movement, had consistently demanded that the state government hold talks with the agitating students at the earliest. The Jharkhand government should have taken this step much earlier. It has finally done so, though belatedly.
The students’ movement began on July 25 following the declaration of the preliminary results of the civil services examination. Thousands of students and job aspirants gathered at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium in Ranchi, raising their demands against irregularities and lack of transparency in the recruitment process.
The protest was sustained through determined forms of struggle, including a 16-day-long hunger strike by various youth leaders, which further intensified pressure on the government and highlighted the seriousness of the demands raised by students and job aspirants.
On August 7, AISA, RYA and other Left and progressive student and youth organisations organised a massive march near the Jharkhand Assembly. Another massive march was held on August 10, when thousands of students and job aspirants marched through Ranchi towards the Jharkhand Assembly. The protesting youth were met with brutal police violence, including a massive lathi-charge near the Jharkhand Assembly on the evening of August 10.
Comrade Manoj Bhakt said that CPI(ML) Liberation had continuously put pressure on the government to ensure transparency and fairness in the examination system. Conducting examinations in a transparent and impartial manner is the responsibility of the Jharkhand government. He demanded that the government immediately issue requisitions for new posts and release recruitment notifications without further delay.
He said the government must also listen to the questions being raised from schools across Jharkhand. Issues of drinking water, clean toilets, playgrounds and shortage of teachers continue to affect students. The entire education system, from primary education to higher education, needs urgent repair and restructuring.
The CPI(ML) Liberation State Secretary said that people do not pay taxes to the government merely to serve the interests of Adani and Ambani. People pay taxes so that public institutions and basic services can be strengthened. The Modi government must understand that the taxes collected from Jharkhand cannot be meant only for the benefit of Adani and Ambani. They must also serve the people of Jharkhand by ensuring education, employment and a better public system.
He said that the education system in Jharkhand is in a state of deep crisis and the government must take full responsibility for correcting it. Students must be guaranteed quality education, dignified opportunities, a transparent system and dignified employment.
CPI(ML) Liberation said the students’ struggle has once again demonstrated the strength of organised resistance and made clear that the government cannot indefinitely ignore the legitimate demands of students and youth. The party reiterated its solidarity with the students and called for continued pressure on the government to ensure that the commitments made by the government are implemented in full.
