Jharkhand protest highlights: Jharkhand SSC secretary Sudhir Gupta questioned by CID, day after JSSC-CGL cancelled

Following the CM's announcement to cancel the JSSC-CGL examination and all exams conducted by TDPL, Jharkhand ministers Dipika Pandey Singh and Irfan Ansari arrived at Sadar Hospital to hold discussions with student leader Devendra Nath Mahto.

Following the cancellation of the JSSC-CGL examination, students and youngsters were seen singing and dancing in celebration in Ranchi.

Following the Chief Minister’s announcement cancelling the JSSC-CGL examination and all exams conducted by TDPL, student leader Devendra Nath Mahato interacted with activist Sonam Wangchuk over a video call.

He said, "Inspired and guided by you, we fought this battle. Today, on the 16th day of the hunger strike and the 23rd day of the movement, the government has met our demands."

Jharkhand protest LIVE: Jharkhand minister Sudivya Kumar said candidates whose exams were cancelled are free to take legal recourse, PTI news agency reported.

Jharkhand protest LIVE: Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren on Monday said the SIT and CID probes had “brought to light several shocking facts”, adding that he could not disclose every detail publicly at this point.

“…However, it has been observed that individuals appointed through the CGL process are now being arrested on charges related to irregularities in the JPSC examinations. Furthermore, there appears to be a complex, interconnected network involving various companies that have operated here at different times,” Soren added. He said the scope of investigation covers all recruitment examinations conducted since 2014.

Jharkhand protest LIVE: Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren said several companies active in Jharkhand “appear to be involved in a huge exam racket.”

Jharkhand protest LIVE: Rajya Sabha MP Vikramjit Singh Sahney said the core committee of students would sit and deliberate on the future course of action now.

“However, this is a massive victory, a triumph of the youth's struggle and their integrity. The youth have conducted themselves very peacefully here. Regarding the private agency TDPL which conducted the exams, we had requested the Chief Minister to scrap the arrangement, and that has indeed been done,” he told reporters, according to PTI news agency.

Jharkhand protest LIVE: Protesting student leader Devendra Nath Mahto called the decision to cancel JSSC-CGL a “major announcement” and a “victory of student activism.”

“The entire world can now see that collective action gets results. This very examination, which was canceled today, could not even find relief through the courts, but justice was ultimately achieved through the strength of the movement. Just as movements won our nation's independence and created the separate state of Jharkhand, the power of collective action has now delivered a victory for our students,” he told PTI news agency.

Jharkhand protest LIVE: One of the protesting aspirants who was selected in the JSSC-CGL exam said the test had the Supreme Court's seal of approval.

“We had the Supreme Court's seal of approval, yet suddenly, the government. In an instant, we became unemployed. We are upset with the Chief Minister,” the aspirant said, urging the state government to reconsider the decision.

“What about the honorable court's stance? What will happen to the hundreds of our brothers who resigned from previous jobs to join this one? We will go to court. We reached this stage through the courts before, so we will go to court again,” the protester said.

Jharkhand protest LIVE: Jharkhand student leader Piyush Kumar said “this is just the first step”, adding that the demand on the “11-13 decision” remains in place.

“Our demand regarding the '11th to 13th' issue remains in place; we are waiting for a decision on it. We will sit down and decide our next course of action for this movement. Our demands have not yet been fully met,” he said, according to ANI news agency.

Jharkhand protest LIVE: Student protesters in Jharkhand celebrated after the state government announced the cancellation of the JSSC-CGL examination.

Jharkhand protest LIVE: Jharkhand student leader Devendra Mahto said he will soon reach the protest site in Ranchi to break his fast, PTI news agency reported.

Jharkhand protest LIVE: Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren on Monday said a committee chaired by IAS officer Amitabh Kaushal will drive reforms.

“To drive these reforms, we have decided to constitute a committee chaired by IAS officer Amitabh Kaushal; this committee will engage with various institutions, intellectuals, and experts to bring the reform process to fruition,” Soren said.

Jharkhand protest LIVE: Jharkhand student leader Ravindra Paswan on Monday expressed his “heartfelt gratitude” after the cancellation of JSSC-CGL and other recruitment exams.

“I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone. I want to thank those who stood by us. We will not stop until we achieve total victory. All our demands have not been met yet. Our demands regarding the cancellation of exams have been fulfilled, but the CBI investigation is not done yet. Until that demand is met, we will not move from here...” ANI news agency cited Paswan as saying.

Jharkhand protest LIVE: CJP convenor Abhijeet Dipke on Monday congratulated the student protesters in Jharkhand after the state government cancelled the JSSC-CGL examinations.

“Congratulations to all students in Jharkhand and to all those who were leading this fight especially @DevendraNathMa9 bhai. Your fight will inspire many more students across the country!” Dipke said in a post on X.

Jharkhand protest LIVE: The candidates who cleared the JSSC-CGL examinations staged a protest on Monday against the cancellation of the recruitment exam.

“We joined through a fair process, so why is such a step being taken? We say: conduct an investigation. If any errors are found during the investigation, remove those specific individuals.,” one of the protesters said.