Ranchi: The Jharkhand government’s late-night decision on Monday to cancel the JSSC-CGL examination and all other recruitment examinations conducted by private agency TDPL brought a major breakthrough to the prolonged student agitation, with student leader Devendra Mahto describing the development as a “big victory” for the protesting aspirants.
The announcement came on the 24th day of the students’ protest, with several protesters having been on hunger strike for the past 14 days. Celebrations broke out at the Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium in Ranchi, where the students have been staging their agitation.
However, Mahto made it clear that the movement would not end merely with the government’s announcement. Thanking students, parents, teachers, activists and others who had supported the agitation, he said the larger battle was for a recruitment system that was transparent, leak-proof and capable of ensuring strict punishment for those involved in examination irregularities and recruitment scams.
The decision followed a marathon meeting of the Jharkhand Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Monday. Addressing reporters at the state secretariat after the meeting, Soren said the ongoing CID and SIT investigations had brought to light “some startling revelations”.
“After much deliberation in the Cabinet, it has been decided to cancel the JSSC-CGL. All other examinations conducted by TDPL will also be cancelled,” the Chief Minister said.
Soren further directed the CID to investigate irregularities in all recruitment examinations conducted in Jharkhand since 2014, widening the scope of the probe considerably.
The government’s decision fulfils two of the principal demands raised by the protesting students — cancellation of the JSSC-CGL examination and scrapping of all recruitment examinations conducted by TDPL, the private agency under investigation by the Jharkhand Police CID.
The TDPL has conducted several examinations in the state, including the 14th JPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination and two civil services backlog examinations. The JSSC-CGL examination was conducted in 2024, and around 1,800 successful candidates have already been appointed to various departments of the state government.
The controversy intensified after the CID registered a case on July 22 to investigate alleged irregularities in the 14th JPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination. The probe has since resulted in the arrest of 21 people, including former JPSC chairman L. Khiangte, besides directors and executives of TDPL and alleged middlemen. Investigators subsequently traced links involving the TDPL network to the JSSC-CGL examination as well.
The developments triggered the student agitation in Ranchi. Job aspirants began an indefinite protest at the Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium, with some students undertaking a hunger strike. On August 10, the protesters marched towards the Vidhan Sabha and warned that they would gherao the Chief Minister’s residence on August 20 if their demands were not accepted.
With two of their key demands now accepted, attention has shifted to the students’ remaining demand for a CBI investigation into the alleged examination irregularities. There was no immediate clarity on whether the protesters would continue their agitation until that demand was also addressed.
The Chief Minister, meanwhile, said the government wanted the investigation to cover the entire recruitment examination system rather than limit it to the cases already under investigation.
“Since the operation is being done, it is better to get it done in totality. So, I have directed the CID to probe all exams held since 2014,” Soren said.
The government also announced a structural reform initiative aimed at preventing such controversies in the future. A committee headed by senior IAS officer Amitabh Kaushal will examine the existing recruitment examination system and recommend corrective measures to make it more transparent, secure and foolproof.
For the protesting students, Monday night’s announcement marked a significant turning point after weeks of agitation. While the government has conceded two of their principal demands and ordered a wider investigation into recruitment examinations, the question of whether the students will call off their protest is expected to depend largely on the government’s response to their demand for a CBI probe.
The immediate mood at the protest venue, however, was one of celebration, with students hailing the government’s decision as a major achievement of their sustained agitation.
