Jharkhand Government Holds Talks with Groups Amid Exam Protests, Fails to Break Deadlock

PTI, August 8, 2026, Ranchi: The Jharkhand government on Saturday held talks with various outfits amid the massive agitation over the alleged paper leaks in recruitment exams, but failed to break the deadlock as the protesting aspirants decided that their stir would continue until all their demands are met.

A five-member panel of the government, which included state ministers, first met the faction of protesters led by JLKM leader Devendra Nath Mahto, whose fast over the issue entered its seventh day. They then separately met delegations of the Congress-backed NSUI, ACS and JCM.

"Demands of protesting aspirants are genuine; we will place these before Chief Minister Hemant Soren," state minister Sanjay Prasad Yadav, who is a member of the panel set up by the government, said after the back-to-back meetings.

The ruling JMM's students' wing Jharkhand Chhatra Morcha (JCM) placed five demands before the government panel, including the cancellation of the 14th Jharkhand PSC Civil Services Examination. The NSUI placed six demands before the government, including a CID probe into all JPSC and JSSC examinations under doubt within 90 Testing Agency (JTA) on the lines of the National Testing Agency, its spokesperson Sanjiv Shah said.

Adivasi Chatra Sangh leader Kartik Oraon said: "We demanded inclusion of tribal and regional languages as qualifying papers in the recruitment examinations, besides cancellation of the tests in which irregularities were found".

The government panel's first meeting was with Mahto's grouping, JPSC JSSC Candidates' Forum, and it lasted around two hours.

"The government assured us of a quick decision to resolve the issues raised by us. However, our protests will continue until all our demands, including cancellation of the 14th JPSC exam, are met," a leader of the forum said.

State minister Dipika Pandey Singh said the talks were held in a positive atmosphere and recruitment discrepancies explained by students will be resolved soon.

Higher and Technical Education Minister Sudivya Kumar said the government has issued an email ID, jpsc.jssc.feedback@gmail.com, seeking suggestions from aspirants on reforming the recruitment processes.

The government undertook the parleys as the protest over the paper leaks entered its 15th day.

"We have been demanding immediate cancellation of the 14th Jharkhand PSC Civil Services Examination, and all exams conducted by that agency," Mahto told PTI. He said since the students have been protesting peacefully for over two weeks, the state government should fulfil their demands immediately.