Jharkhand BJP chief spokesperson Pratul Shah Deo has launched a sharp attack on the Hemant Soren-led government following clashes between police and protesting job aspirants in Ranchi.
Speaking to ANI, Shah Deo accused the state government and police of using excessive force against students protesting over alleged irregularities in Jharkhand’s recruitment examinations. He questioned whether the state had become a “police state” and compared the handling of the protests to “Hitler’s Nazi Germany”.
Shah Deo further alleged that women protesters were also targeted during the clashes. He claimed that students were assaulted and alleged that attempts were made to tear the clothes of women protesters.
“Students were assaulted, and attempts were made to tear women’s clothes,” Shah Deo said, while invoking Article 19(1)(A) of the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech and expression. He questioned whether the government had imposed a dictatorship and accused the police of brutality against students who, according to him, were protesting peacefully.
He also warned that the BJP would intensify its support for the protesting students. Shah Deo said the party’s support, which had so far been “merely moral”, would now extend to taking to the streets alongside the protesters.
“The BJP has now resolved that if you raise a baton against students, we will stand in your way first,” he said.
What triggered the protests?
The protests stem from a dispute over Jharkhand’s recruitment examinations. The state government cancelled 22 recruitment examinations on August 19 over alleged malpractice and ordered a CID probe into 17 other examinations. The decision triggered fresh protests from candidates who had cleared some of the cancelled examinations and feared losing their appointments.
The situation intensified after the Jharkhand High Court stayed several government notifications relating to the cancellation of examinations and appointments associated with the 11th and 13th Jharkhand Public Service Commission examinations and the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission Combined Graduate Level examination.
Clashes in Ranchi
On August 21, clashes broke out between police and job aspirants in Ranchi during a protest organised under the banner of the JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch.
According to the police account cited in the source, security personnel resorted to mild force after protesters allegedly violated the designated protest route. Following the clash, three FIRs were registered at Ranchi’s Kotwali police station against 14 named individuals and more than 200 unidentified persons. The cases include allegations of obstructing government work and clashing with police.
The confrontation has since become a political flashpoint, with the BJP stepping up its criticism of the state government and backing the protesting job aspirants.
The protesters later called off their agitation while awaiting government assurances on examination reforms.
