The Congress on Thursday said that it__ supports the students__ protesting against alleged irregularities in Jharkhand civil service examinations.

The Congress is part of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led state government.

K Raju, the All India Congress Committee’s in-charge for Jharkhand, said that he met Chief Minister Hemant Soren along with other Jharkhand Congress leaders and submitted a memorandum on the demands of the students.

The state government has formed a four-member ministerial committee to hold talks with the protesting students, Congress MP Pramod Tiwari told IANS.

“We fully support every legitimate demand of the students,” IANS quoted Tiwari as saying.

Alluding to the police action against youth protesters at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, Tiwari said: “The difference is that in Jharkhand, there were no nail-studded lathis used, no pellet firing took place.”

The protests in Jharkhand began on July 25, inspired by the agitation across the country against the alleged mismanagement of national competitive exams. The protesters have been holding a sit-in at Ranchi’s Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium, with six demonstrators on fast, PTI reported.

The protesters have demanded the cancellation of the 14th Jharkhand Public Service Commission Combined Preliminary Test held on April 19.

They have also sought independent inquiries by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate into alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission.

On Thursday, the protesters said that they will surround the Vidhan Sabha as part of the agitation on August 10 if the state government fails to address their demands, ANI reported.

The Monsoon Session of Jharkhand Assembly began on Thursday with MLAs of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party staging a protest in support of the student agitation, PTI reported.

Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.

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