Ranchi: The BJP on Tuesday called for a statewide bandh in Jharkhand to protest the alleged police action against students during the JPSC-JSSC aspirants’ protest in Ranchi.
BJP workers have taken to the streets in support of the statewide bandh in various areas of Ranchi, Hazaribagh, Palamu, Giridih and Chatra districts. Roads have been blocked at multiple locations. At Harmu Chowk in Ranchi, BJP workers blocked the road by burning tyres. Protesters raised slogans against the state government and condemned the police action against the students.
Police personnel have been deployed at major intersections, and the administration has intensified surveillance to maintain law and order during the bandh.
The impact of the shutdown was also visible in Palamu district from the morning, with BJP workers staging protests and blocking roads at Chhahmuhan and Redma Chowk in Daltonganj. Amit Tiwari, the BJP’s Palamu district president, accused the state government of jeopardising the future of the youth.
In Simdega, BJP workers took to the streets early in the morning and blocked National Highway-143 at several locations, including Biru, disrupting vehicular movement. They also raised slogans against the police action on students.
Reports of road blockades by BJP workers have also emerged from Dhanwar in Giridih district and Pratappur in Chatra district.
Speaking to IANS, BJP Mahanagar President Varun Sahu said, “Bandh has been called in protest against the way the government lathicharged students, used tear gas and resorted to force against those who were protesting. You may have seen how they were beaten at night under the cover of darkness. People have now understood the Congress’ double standards.”
Thousands of job aspirants protesting alleged irregularities in Jharkhand recruitment examinations clashed with police near the state Assembly on Monday. Security personnel used water cannons, tear gas shells and lathi charges to prevent the protesters from reaching the Assembly premises.
The demonstrators, carrying the national flag and placards demanding the cancellation of recruitment examinations and an independent investigation into the alleged irregularities, breached several barricades despite heavy security deployment. Several protesters claimed they were injured during the police action.
The protest took place while the Jharkhand Assembly was in session and coincided with Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s 51st birthday.
The march began around 10.30 a.m. on Monday from outside the old Assembly building and proceeded towards the current Assembly complex. Protesters crossed multiple barricades as security personnel attempted to contain the gathering. When the march reached the final barricade near Jagannathpur Temple, police deployed water cannons. Initially, protesters responded by waving the Tricolour and dancing, but tensions escalated when they attempted to move further towards the Assembly.
While protesters alleged that several participants, including women, were injured in the police action, Ranchi City SP Paras Rana said that four policemen sustained injuries during stone-pelting by demonstrators.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Hemant Soren appealed to the protesting JPSC-JSSC aspirants to maintain peace and assured them that the government would address their grievances with “seriousness and sensitivity”. He said students have every right to raise their concerns in a democracy and that it is the government’s responsibility to respect their voice. Soren also thanked the police and administration for handling the protest with restraint.
The Chief Minister further stated that senior ministers were in continuous dialogue with the protesters and assured that steps would be taken to make the examination system more transparent, technology-driven, secure and accountable. He accused some Opposition leaders of attempting to politicise the agitation and urged students not to be misled by political narratives. Reiterating his appeal for dialogue and trust, he said the issue could be resolved through constructive engagement.
Meanwhile, student activist Devendra Nath Mahto, who had been on a hunger strike for the past nine days, was hospitalised in Ranchi after his health deteriorated. He was rushed from the protest site to the hospital on a stretcher for medical treatment.
(IANS)
