Ranchi: Jharkhand’s student agitation took a new turn on Monday (August 17), when the government’s decision to scrap disputed recruitment exams led to celebrations among protesting students while, almost simultaneously, pushing candidates who had cleared those exams and secured government jobs onto the streets.
Chief Minister Hemant Soren announced the cancellation of several examinations conducted through the TeraData Processing Limited (TDPL), including the 14th Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) examination and the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission – Combined Graduate Level (JSSC-CGL) examination. As soon as CM Soren announced the decisions, students celebrated, distributed sweets and applied gulal (colour) to one another.
The government also cancelled the published results and said that candidates selected through the TDPL would lose their appointments. The announcement was being watched live on mobile phones by students sitting at the Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium. They later marched from the protest site towards the Albert Ekka Chowk. But the celebrations at the stadium coincided with a new protest outside the state secretariat.
The Jharkhand High Court ordered the result to be published on December 8, 2025. Appointment letters were issued to successful candidates on December 30.
He questioned how the government could remove 2,000 people from their jobs through a “random statement”. He said they had been employed in the morning and dismissed by evening despite securing their appointments following a court order. A welfare officer in Budhmu block of Ranchi district rushed to the secretariat after hearing about the government’s decision.
He said the protesters would continue their agitation until a CBI investigation is ordered. The agitation is not going to weaken at all,” he said. “We are firmly united in our resolve to continue the protest until the demand for a CBI investigation and the other demands we have raised from the very beginning are met.
