The Jharkhand administration and student leaders protesting alleged anomalies in government employment examinations concluded their second round of negotiations on Saturday, but the students' requests remained unresolved.
However, the students said that the administration had heard their requests and that they will decide whether to end their hunger strike after discussing the matter with Chief Minister Hemant Soren.
Around 10.30 am, an eight-person delegation from the JPSC-JSSC Abhyarthi Nyay Manch left the protest site at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium and arrived at a guest home in Morabadi for the meeting. Around 11.30 am, the discussions started.
The delegation brought up a number of additional concerns pertaining to candidates from various recruitment exams, in addition to the demands already made by the other platform, the JPSC-JSSC Reform Manch, which met with the government on Friday nite. These included problems with the TGT test and other tests used to find teachers.
Sanjay Yadav (RJD), Deepika Singh Pandey (Congress), Chamra Linda (JMM), and Sudivya Kumar Sonu (JMM) represented the government side.
Following the meeting, Sudivya Kumar Sonu spoke to the media and urged candidates and students to email the government at jpsc.jssc.feedback@gmail.com with their ideas and opinions so that their issues may be taken into consideration.
Chandan Rajak, a student representative, stated that the Chief Minister would now consider the students' demands after they were heard during the meeting. He stated that before terminating the agitation and dropping their hunger strike, the students would wait for the government to make a decision.
"We have made our expectations known. The government has acknowledged their concerns and promised to discuss them with the chief minister. We won't end the hunger strike and agitation until a decision is made, Rajak stated.
The negotiations took place one day after the JPSC-JSSC Reform Manch, the first group of protesting students, met with government officials on Friday. The main requests of the students were not resolved at the end of the conference either.
At Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium, the demonstration persisted in the meantime. A number of other demonstrators were also reportedly ill, and two students who were on hunger strike were sent to Sadar Hospital as their condition worsened.
After two rounds of negotiations, the students have insisted that their agitation will not end until a firm decision is made about their requests. On August 10, students from both groups are ready to march in the direction of the Assembly gherao.
