Student protests over state recruitment exams escalated sharply in Ranchi on Sunday, with agitated job aspirants burning effigies of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav. Marking the 23rd day of the demonstration led by the JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium, hundreds of students took out a torchlight march to Albert Ekka Chowk, slamming the ruling JMM-Congress coalition for turning a blind eye to widespread irregularities in government hiring tests.
The demonstration saw dramatic moments when one of the protesting aspirants shaved his head in public, declaring he was performing symbolic last rites for his "elder brothers" Hemant Soren and Rahul Gandhi. Voicing bitter frustration, the protester called political leaders "as good as dead" to the youth, saying students no longer expect any real accountability from them. The crowd also called out Rahul Gandhi directly, questioning why he took to the streets over the national NEET issue in Delhi but stayed quiet about alleged recruitment scams happening right under his alliance government in Jharkhand. Some students went as far as demanding that Congress pull its support from the state coalition if the Chief Minister continues to ignore their grievances.
The agitation is driven by core demands that include scrapping controversial exam cycles like the JSSC-CGL and recent JPSC tests, handing over all paper leak and scam probes to the Central Bureau of Investigation, and reinstating whistleblower Santosh Kumar Mastana. With student unions threatening to march on the Chief Minister’s official residence on August 20, the state government has stepped in to offer a fresh round of dialogue in an effort to defuse the standoff and discuss exam reforms.