Jharkhand protest: Students' demands ‘genuine’, says minister after back-to-back meetings, govt releases email ID

Published 8 August 2026 · politics

The Jharkhand government held talks with various outfits amid protests over the issue of paper leak in recruitment exams. "Demands of protesting aspirants are genuine,"

The Jharkhand government held talks with various outfits amid protests over the issue of paper leak in recruitment exams. "Demands of protesting aspirants are genuine," state minister Sanjay Prasad Yadav, who is a member of the panel set up by the government, said after back-to-back meetings. As the meeting concluded, Yadav was quoted as saying, “All the students’ demands are justified, and we will take up their issues with the Chief Minister [Hemant Soren]. All their grievances will be addressed.” The state government officials arrived at the State Guest House in Ranchi on Saturday to meet the student delegation and discuss aspirants' demands. A five-member panel of the government, which included three ministers, first met the faction of protesters led by JLKM leader Devendra Nath Mahto, whose fast over the issue entered its seventh day. They then met delegations of the Congress-backed NSUI, ACS and JCM. On Friday night, the government held similar talks with a 10-member delegation of the JPSC/JSSC Reforms Manch. In view of the meeting, heavy security was deployed at the State Guest House in Ranchi, where the eight-member student delegation will meet the State government officials to discuss the demands of the students.

What did protesters demand? The ruling JMM's students' wing Jharkhand Chhatra Morcha (JCM) placed five demands before the government panel, including the cancellation of the 14th Jharkhand PSC Civil Services Examination, PTI reported. The NSUI placed six demands before the government, including a CID probe into all JPSC and JSSC examinations under doubt within 90 days and the setting up of Jharkhand Testing Agency (JTA) on the lines of the Testing Agency, its spokesperson Sanjiv Shah said. The government panel's first meeting was with Mahto's grouping, JPSC JSSC Candidates' Forum, and it lasted around two hours. "The government assured us of a quick decision to resolve the issues raised by us. However, our protests will continue until all our demands, including cancellation of the 14th JPSC exam, are met," a leader of the forum said. Also Read | Watch: Ink Attack On Student Leader Neha Bora During Jharkhand Protest March "We have been demanding immediate cancellation of the 14th Jharkhand PSC Civil Services Examination, and all exams conducted by that agency," Mahto told PTI. "They should not procrastinate on it. How the government responds to the demands will be interesting to see. If the government had fulfilled the demands on Friday after the talks they held with the 10-member delegation of students, there would be no need for the meeting today, because our demands are almost the same," Mahto said.