The protest by students over the alleged Jharkhand recruitment exam irregularities entered its 18th day on Tuesday with the BJP observing a statewide bandh and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) organising a march to the state assembly during the day even as two of the six demonstrators observing an indefinite hunger strike have been hospitalised.
On a call given by the BJP for a bandh from 8 am to midnight to protest against the police action on demonstrators during their march to Vidhan Sabha on Monday, party workers burnt tyres and set up road blockades across Ranchi on Tuesday.
Protesters blocked major traffic arteries, including Kanke Road and key junctions like Harmu Chowk and Kishorganj Chowk, resulting in disruptions to vehicular movement and scuffles with law enforcement agencies. On the Ranchi-Patna highway in Ramgarh district, hundreds of party supporters staged a three-hour sit-in, leading to long traffic jams, before the police intervened and detained agitators.
BJP state president Aditya Sahu said the police acted in an aggressive manner and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led government tried to subdue the youth through force instead of resolving exam irregularities.
ABVP activists climb on police bus, 110 detained
Members of the ABVP clashed with the police on Tuesday as protests in Ranchi intensified a day after police lathi-charged students marching towards the Vidhan Sabha.
The police said 110 ABVP activists were detained as they launched a march to the Jharkhand Assembly and could be seen climbing onto police vans amid widespread chaos. Many of them sat on the road and shouted slogans during a planned march from the old Assembly grounds to the new legislative complex.
‘Protest will remain apolitical’
Meanwhile, the central student movement has decided to keep their protest totally apolitical with focus on recruitment exam reforms only. The core student leadership team which met at noon to plan their next course of action emphasised that any further discussions should be held with none other than Chief Minister Hemant Soren.
Jharkhand govt hits back at BJP
Jharkhand minister Irfan Ansari hit back at the BJP’s call for shutdown, saying it was an attempt to “hijack” the peaceful protest being carried out by students. Ansari said while the Hemant Soren government is supporting peaceful protests, the BJP sent “troublemakers to crush the movement”.
The minister accused the BJP of using “children as a shield” in its agenda against the government. “Who are you to interfere in the students’ movement? Who called you? Today you called for a bandh. Why? Who are you to declare a shutdown? The entire market is open. They put up bamboo barricades, and we are removing them.”
JMM MP Mahua Maji said talks were held between the student leaders and ministers from the Congress, JMM and RJD, where 98 per cent of their demands were accepted, but the BJP was still inciting the students.
CM Soren reassures students
Chief Minister Hemant Soren urged the agitating youth to maintain peace and resolve their concerns through dialogue, saying the state government was approaching their demands with “seriousness and sensitivity”. In a post on X, Soren said students had every democratic right to raise their voices over genuine grievances and that the government was duty-bound to hear them and take appropriate action.
Also read: Soren appeals for calm, dialogue after lathi charge on students
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