Ranchi: Higher and technical education minister Sudivya Kumar on Monday accused BJP of hijacking the students’ agitation “through the backdoor” for political mileage, leading to the collapse of the dialogue process. He, however, said the state govt remained open to talks and had acted proactively on the protesters’ demands.Replying in the assembly to a question on talks between the govt and protesting students, Kumar said the groups had largely agreed to the govt’s proposals after three rounds of discussions. “However, some were allegedly misled into going ahead with the Vidhan Sabha march. BJP will largely be responsible if any untoward incident occurs,” he said.The monsoon session of the assembly resumed without BJP legislators, who were detained while protesting outside the CM’s residence in solidarity with students camping at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium.The agitation entered its 17th day on Monday after talks with the govt failed. The protesters’ key demands include cancellation of the JSSC-CGL 2024 examination and a CBI probe into allegedly tainted examinations conducted by JPSC and JSSC.Kumar told speaker Rabindranath Mahto that the controversy was primarily linked to alleged irregularities in the 14th JPSC examination. He said the govt ordered a CID probe soon after receiving indications of wrongdoing.The minister said the investigation resulted in the resignation of the then JPSC chairperson and the arrest of 19 people. “Digital and documentary evidence was seized, and further investigation was under way,” he added.Kumar said the students had not formally communicated their demands to the govt for several days after beginning the protest. After they submitted a representation seeking talks, CM Hemant Soren constituted a four-member ministerial committee on Aug 5 to engage with the aspirants.He said discussions focused on the investigation, cancellation of examinations and reforms in recruitment processes. Govt accepted the students’ position on cancelling the 14th JPSC examination and the 2023 and 2025 backlogs, he claimed.On the demand to cancel JSSC-CGL exam, the govt maintained that blanket cancellation was not legally feasible but agreed to a judicial probe. Kumar said all examinations conducted by TDPL, an agency engaged by JPSC, would be scrutinised and action taken if irregularities emerged.“We believe in dialogue in a democracy and remain ready for talks. Unfortunately, the agitation has become less about students and more about BJP’s political enthusiasm,” Kumar said.
