Ranchi: Political temperatures remained high in Jharkhand on Wednesday as the deadlock between the state govt and protesting JPSC-JSSC aspirants deepened, prompting authorities to tighten security around chief minister Hemant Soren’s Kanke Road residence ahead of Independence Day.The protest entered its 19th day at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium, with three rounds of talks between students and a four-member ministerial panel failing to break the impasse. Protesters are now contemplating a march to Hemant’s residence seeking direct talks with the CM.The aspirants remain firm on their twin demands — cancellation of the JSSC-CGL examination and a CBI probe into alleged recruitment irregularities. They have rejected the state’s offer of a CID probe, other investigations and reform initiatives, as well as Hemant’s repeated appeals on social media.Tension rose on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday when Ranchi deputy commissioner Manjunath Bhajantri and senior police officers reached the protest site with a sizeable security contingent, triggering fears among students of a possible eviction. BJP functionaries also rushed to the venue, accusing the govt of trying to intimidate protesters.Security was subsequently stepped up around Hemant’s residence, with multiple layers of barricades and additional armed personnel deployed. Vehicular movement was restricted in the high-security zone, causing traffic snarls on stretches connecting Morabadi, Kutchery Chowk and Kanke Road.Leader of opposition Babulal Marandi accused the govt of ignoring students’ concerns and trying to pressure them into ending the agitation.“The govt and administration on the contrary are now trying to intimidate protesters through various means to end the strike. However, BJP will continue to fight for them,” he said.Minister Dipika Pandey Singh rejected BJP’s demand for a CBI probe. “Of the 17 examination-related cases handed over to CBI since 2015, virtually none has yielded any result,” she claimed.Former CM Raghubar Das visited the protest site in the evening and announced an indefinite dharna at Birsa Munda Samadhi Sthal if the state govt failed to hand over the probe to the CBI within a week.In a counter-offensive, four Congress ministers — Radha Krishana Kishore, Dipika, Irfan Ansari and Shilpi Neha Tirkey — jointly addressed a press conference, defending the Hemant govt’s handling of the crisis and accusing the BJP of exploiting the students’ movement for political gains.Kishore said the govt was prepared to discuss the issue in the assembly, as demanded by the BJP, but opposition MLAs did not attend the House on Aug 10 when the discussion was scheduled. “Other important issues, including the looming drought and farmers’ concerns, were also listed at BJP’s insistence. However, its MLAs stayed away, forcing the House to be adjourned sine die prematurely. This shows how serious BJP is about youths and farmers,” he said.The row also echoed in Delhi, where Jharkhand BJP MPs staged a protest outside Parliament, targeting Congress’s Rahul Gandhi.Meanwhile, CID teams conducted raids in Palamu on Wednesday while searching for two alleged accused linked to recruitment exam irregularities. Santosh Singh and Ravishankar Kumar could not be traced. Daltonganj police station officer in-charge Jyoti Lal Rajwar said, “CID teams had earlier searched for the duo on Aug 3 as well.”CID has so far arrested 20 people in connection with alleged irregularities in the 14th JPSC civil services examination.
