4 min readRanchiAug 9, 2026 11:09 AM IST
First published on: Aug 8, 2026 at 01:53 PM IST
The second round of talks between the Jharkhand government and student representatives protesting alleged irregularities in government recruitment examinations ended without a breakthrough on Saturday, prolonging a conflict that the state has so far struggled to resolve.
The students, however, said the government had listened to their demands and that they would wait for the issues to be taken up with Chief Minister Hemant Soren before deciding whether to withdraw their hunger strike.
The controversy began soon after the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) declared the preliminary examination results of the 14th Combined Civil Services Examination on July 2. The Commission shortlisted 2,204 candidates against 103 vacancies, but allegations of irregularities emerged soon after. Around 3.5 lakh people took the exam.
At the heart of the protest, which comes against the backdrop of the developments at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, are allegations of paper leaks in the exam. The Soren government has tried to act quickly – 19 people have been arrested, and the Chief Minister has said they stand with the youth – but the protests have shown no signs of slowing.
On Saturday, an eight-member delegation of the JPSC-JSSC Abhyarthi Nyay Manch left the protest site at Ranchi’s Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium and reached a guesthouse in Morabadi around 10:30 am for the meeting. The talks began around 11:30 am.
The delegation reiterated the demands already put forward by the other platform that has emerged during the protests, the JPSC-JSSC Reform Manch, which held talks with the government on Friday night. Saturday’s meeting also saw some additional demands concerning candidates from different recruitment tests, including issues related to the TGT examination and other teacher recruitment examinations.
The government side was represented by Sudivya Kumar Sonu (JMM), Chamra Linda (JMM), Deepika Singh Pandey (Congress), and Sanjay Yadav (RJD).
After the meeting, Sonu addressed the media and appealed to students and candidates to send their suggestions and views to the government through a dedicated email so that their concerns could be considered.
Student representative Chandan Rajak said their demands would now be taken forward to Chief Minister Soren. “Only after a decision is taken will we move away from the hunger strike and the agitation,” Rajak said.
Meanwhile, the crowd continued to swell at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium. Two students sitting on hunger strike were taken to Sadar Hospital after their health deteriorated, while several other protesters were also reported to be unwell.
Students from both key outfits have said they plan to march towards the Assembly for a gherao on August 10.
The protests have drawn support from the Cockroach Janta Party, which spearheaded the New Delhi protests, and on Saturday, singer-actor Piyush Mishra dropped by to offer his support.
Simultaneously, student outfits of political parties have waded into the protests too. The ABVP clashed with the police on Friday, while the AISA took out a march in Ranchi.
The ruling JMM’s students’ wing, the Jharkhand Chhatra Morcha (JCM), has also placed five demands before the government panel, including the cancellation of the 14th JPSC examination.
The NSUI has placed six demands before the government, including a CID probe into all JPSC and JSSC examinations under suspicion within 90 days and the establishment of the Jharkhand Testing Agency on the lines of the National Testing Agency.
Adivasi Chatra Sangh leader Kartik Oraon said they have demanded the inclusion of tribal and regional languages as qualifying papers in the recruitment examinations.
According to Devendra Nath Mahto, a student leader associated with Jairam Mahato’s JLKM and one of the people on a fast, the primary demand is the “immediate cancellation of the 14th Jharkhand PSC Civil Services Examination, and all exams conducted by that agency”.
“If the government had fulfilled the demands on Friday after the talks they held with the 10-member delegation of students, there would be no need for the meeting today, because our demands are almost the same,” Mahto said.
– With inputs from PTI
The JPSC protesters in Ranchi (Express Photo by Shubham Tigga) 
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