Thousands of protesters in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand are marching to the state assembly to demand reforms in recruitment exams.
The march has largely been peaceful so far, but police have had to use water cannons and batons to try and disperse protesters at a few locations, reports BBC Hindi.
Students, job seekers and volunteers have been demonstrating in the state capital Ranchi for over two weeks, demanding an overhaul of the state’s government exam system.
Despite multiple rounds of talks and the government accepting several demands, protesters say the agitation will continue until all their demands are met.
The protest comes weeks after thousands of young Indians attempted to march to the national parliament in Delhi, amid the massive “cockroach” protests over exam paper leaks.
India’s Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) – which is not a political party – called off its five-week-long protest on 25 July after education minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned.
The CJP had attracted support from students based in different states of the country.
Meanwhile in Ranchi, visuals from the state capital show thousands of protesters, police as well as media personnel on the streets, amid tightened security arrangements.
Protesters in Jharkhand have been gathered at a stadium in Ranchi since 25 July – some have been sleeping in the open and several have gone on hunger strike.
The immediate cause of the anger is a preliminary civil service exam held by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) in April.
After the results were announced in July, candidates alleged that leaked answer sheets shared on social media showed some successful applicants had answered far fewer questions than expected.
This fuelled suspicions that the results had been manipulated.
The state government has assured students that they will get justice. The allegations around the exam are being investigated by Jharkhand’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID). More than a dozen people have been arrested.
Investigators are also examining the role of a private company that conducted parts of the exam process after candidates raised questions about how it was selected.
After talks with protesters on Sunday, the government agreed to cancel the exam in question, along with two others. Three JPSC members also reportedly resigned.
This came after JPSC chairman L Khiangte stepped down on 22 July. He has also been questioned as part of the investigation.
But protesters say several demands remain unmet, chief among them an investigation into the irregularities by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), India’s premier federal investigative agency.
Unlike the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protests, which emerged outside party politics, the Ranchi agitation has drawn strong political backing.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) , which is in opposition in Jharkhand, has backed the protesters, staged demonstrations, raised the issue in the state assembly and demanded a federal investigation. Congress, a partner in the state government but the BJP’s national rival, has also expressed support for the students.
On Sunday, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who is the head of the regional Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) party, alleged that vested interests were trying to disrupt democracy in the state. He warned that the protesters’ agitation should not be politicised and also reiterated his promise to take action to deliver justice.
