Jharkhand job exam cancellation ends one protest, fuels another

The Jharkhand government has cancelled the JSSC-CGL examination and all recruitment tests conducted by outsourced agency TSR Data Processing Pvt Ltd (TDPL) since 2014, bowing to a 25-day student protest over alleged irregularities. Chief Minister Hemant Soren announced the decision after a marathon cabinet meeting on Monday night, saying an exam reforms committee led by senior IAS officer Amitabh Kaushal would recommend ways to strengthen the recruitment process.

The cancellation ended the hunger strike of student leader Devendra Mahto and other protesters, who had been demanding action since July 25. However, the move has sparked a fresh protest by nearly 2,000 candidates who had already cleared the exams and secured government posts. They gathered outside the state secretariat on Tuesday, demanding that the government not punish them for alleged wrongdoing without proof. "Tell us our crime. Don't throw us out," one candidate said.

The appointed candidates argue that the Jharkhand High Court had earlier rejected a CBI probe into the recruitment process, and that many of them left central government jobs after being appointed. They are threatening legal action and hunger strikes. The government has defended the cancellation as necessary to restore confidence, while the protesting students' main demand for a CBI investigation has not yet been accepted.