Ranchi, Aug 8 — The second round of talks between the students of the JPSC-JSSC Aspirant Nyay Manch and the Jharkhand government is underway at the State Guest House in Ranchi.

An eight-member delegation of students from the Manch is holding face-to-face discussions with the delegation appointed by the state government.

The students associated with the Manch have been protesting continuously since July 5, following the exposure of alleged irregularities in the 14th Civil Services Preliminary Examination by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) on July 2.

Their indefinite agitation entered its 15th day on Saturday. Student leader Devendra Nath Mahato has also been on a hunger strike in support of the protesting aspirants.

The eight-member student delegation, presenting its memorandum and demands before the government, comprises Chandan Kumar, Deenbandhu Mandal, Ravi Shankar, Prem Kumar, Pooja Kumari, Ramavatar Mahato, Bimal Kumar and Amit Kumar Sharma.

Student leader Devendra Nath Mahato, who has been leading the agitation at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium, has been on hunger strike for the past six days in support of the students' demands.

"Thank everyone who is supporting this movement. I am having difficulty speaking for long. The protest, which began on July 5, has continued till now. Our demand is that all examinations conducted by the TDPL agency be cancelled and an inquiry be conducted," Mahato told IANS.

"We are all students and our issue is the same. We went for talks yesterday, but the government kept delaying the matter. Today, a delegation of eight students is holding talks with the government," he added.

Ramavatar Mahato, speaking to IANS, said, "Our meeting is regarding the 14th JPSC examination. The government should immediately cancel the JPSC examination. All the examinations conducted by the TDPL should be cancelled."

Talking to IANS, student leader Prem Nayak said, "We wanted to proceed under the leadership of Devindranath and hold talks with the Chief Minister. Our demand was that the talks should be held on an open platform, in an open ground. We don't know if the government will agree to this demand. This time, we won't rely on the government's hollow promises."

"A student studies in a 10x10 room, bringing rice and lentils from home. If their job is sold for Rs 1 crore or Rs 80 lakh, where will poor students go? That is why it is very important to raise this voice strongly. This is where the economy starts to collapse. If an officer gets a job by paying money and giving a bribe, why would he not indulge in corruption?" he added.

Meanwhile, several protesters continued to demand justice for the students and urged the government to address their concerns regarding the recruitment examination process.

Rapper Suraj Tylon, speaking to IANS, said, "The students are demanding that the JSSC examination be cancelled. There should be transparency in the examination and its results. Everything, including how the cutoff was set, should be clarified."

The students have maintained that their agitation will continue until their demands are addressed and the government takes concrete steps towards resolving the alleged irregularities in the recruitment examination process.

Earlier on Friday evening, the first formal round of talks between the government and the protesting students was held at the State Guest House in Morabadi.

The meeting continued for around one and a half hours and concluded at 9:25 p.m. Student representatives described the discussions as positive, but the meeting failed to produce a final agreement between the two sides.

The students made it clear after the meeting that their protest would continue until a final agreement was reached and their demands were fulfilled. They reiterated that they were seeking concrete action rather than assurances from the government.

During the first round of discussions, a five-member government delegation and a 10-member student delegation participated in the talks. The students placed each of their demands before the government and sought a clear response on the issues raised during the ongoing agitation.

Four ministers from the Jharkhand government participated in the first round of talks. They included Chamara Linda, Sudibya Kumar Sonu, Deepika Pandey Singh and Sanjay Prasad Yadav. Development Commissioner Ajay Kumar Singh was also present during the meeting.

As the second round of talks is underway on Saturday morning, attention is now focused on whether the government and the student delegation can reach common ground on the demands that have kept the JPSC-JSSC aspirants protesting at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium for the past 15 days.

--INAS

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