Ex-CM Questions Lathicharge, Cases Against JPSC Stir Protesters
Key Points:
- Arjun Munda welcomed by BJP leaders near Ukrid Mor in Bokaro
- Ex-CM targets government over lathicharge, cases on JPSC protesters
- Munda calls for permanent solution to students’ recruitment grievances
BOKARO – Former Jharkhand chief minister Arjun Munda received a grand welcome from BJP leaders and workers near Ukrid Mor in Bokaro. While interacting with reporters during the visit, he criticised the state government over the lathicharge and cases filed against students protesting alleged irregularities in the JPSC examination.
Munda said something wrong was happening with the students of Jharkhand. He said the students were vocally placing their concerns before the government, and that the state administration needed to listen to them, understand their issues and act accordingly.
However, he said it was inappropriate for the government to rely on police force and legal cases to suppress the students’ voice. This, he argued, amounted to playing with their emotions and represented an attempt to intimidate them.
Munda further said the government should clarify what a permanent solution to the entire issue would look like, along with the alternatives available. He alleged that the hard work and effort put in by the students had been betrayed in the process.
Moreover, he said the government needed to handle such matters with sensitivity and work toward resolving the students’ problems. Munda’s remarks come amid continuing protests by JPSC and JSSC aspirants over alleged irregularities in the recruitment examination process.
The former chief minister’s comments add to mounting political pressure on the state government over its handling of the student agitation, which has previously seen demonstrations at venues including Ranchi’s Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium. Student leaders have separately launched a state-wide yatra demanding a transparent and corruption-free recruitment system.
Bokaro and neighbouring districts have witnessed heightened political activity in recent weeks as opposition leaders continue to weigh in on the JPSC-JSSC recruitment controversy. Similar criticism of the state government over student unrest has come from other quarters, alongside ongoing debates over reservation and recruitment reforms, AJSU’s planned agitation and the state’s education policy.
