Aug 8 (PTI): The JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch, a prominent students' group spearheading the protest in Jharkhand against alleged exam irregularities, on Saturday accused the state government of "political manoeuvring" by announcing it would hold another round of talks with the demonstrators.
The group alleged that despite placing all points before the government during a meeting on Friday night, the panel chose to call Congress and JMM-affiliated students' bodies who had no role in the agitation and took their charter of demands on Saturday.
"This is political manoeuvring by the government. It is trying to create a divide among students and divert people's attention. But, they should know all students are united," said Ravindra Paswan, a leader of JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch.
"We are very aggrieved and upset by this attitude of the government," he said.
Paswan added that if the government fails to meet their demands by Sunday, more than 50,000 students from across the state would arrive in Ranchi to participate in a march to the assembly on August 10.
"One of our members, Rahul Kranti, who had been holding an indefinite fast, is now struggling for his life at the Sadar Hospital. Our three friends are here on a hunger strike. If any untoward incidents happen to them, then who is going to be accountable?" he asked.
A government panel comprising ministers Dipika Pandey Singh, Sudivya Kumar, Chamra Linda and Sanjay Prasad Yadav has held five rounds of talks with various agitating outfits since Friday night, but failed to break the deadlock as the protesting job aspirants decided that their stir would continue until all their demands are met.
Besides the JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch, the other student bodies that took part in separate meetings included NSUI, Jharkhand Chhatra Manch and Adivasi Chhatra Sangh.
The Jharkhand government will hold a sixth round of talks with students protesting the alleged exam irregularities in the state before reaching a final decision, said a member of the panel tasked with holding dialogue with the demonstrators.
The talks will be held around 12 pm, the member said after the panel held a four-hour meeting with Chief Minister Hemant Soren, appraising him about the progress achieved during the previous five rounds of dialogue with the protesters.
The agitators are demanding comprehensive reform in the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC), besides an independent probe into the alleged irregularities, either by the CBI or a panel of retired high court judges from outside the state. PTI RPS/SAN/NAM NSD
(This story is published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. No editing has been done in the headline or the body by ABP Live.)