Recruitment exams scrapped, now Jharkhand faces another job crisis

The candidates are protesting the government's decision to cancel 22 recruitment examinations and order probes into 23 others conducted by the JPSC, JSSC and an outsourced agency.

A tense situation prevailed at the Jharkhand secretariat on Wednesday after a large number of successful candidates, who are likely to be rendered jobless following the government's cancellation of recruitment examinations, forcibly entered the campus in defiance of a prohibitory order, an official said.

The candidates are protesting the government's decision to cancel 22 recruitment examinations and order probes into 23 others conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC), Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) and an outsourced agency.

However, following the request of the police administration, the protesters, who have been demanding withdrawal of the cancellation orders, came out of the secretariat premises.

"We've decided not to take the law into our hands. The police administration has suggested one or two locations where we can stage a peaceful protest. We launched the agitation on Monday, and it will not be called off until the order of cancelling JSSC-CGL is completely withdrawn," a leader of the successful candidates said.

Hatia DSP Neeraj Kumar had appealed to the protesters to leave the Secretariat campus, as a prohibitory order was in place in the area.

"A prohibitory order under Section 163 of the BNS is effective in the area. The protestors might have faced legal action for violating the order. We suggested them to identify a place outside the premises for their agitation," Kumar told reporters.

Earlier, the protesting candidates staged a demonstration inside the campus of the state secretariat.

"We have been peacefully protesting outside the state secretariat since Monday, but the government paid no heed to our demands. After the government's notification cancelling the examinations, we had no other option but to enter the secretariat campus to press for our demands," said Chandan Kumar, who had been appointed as an assistant section officer (ASO) in a government department.

Another ASO, Shyam Sundar Mandal, said the protesters will not withdraw the agitation until the government revokes the cancellation of the JSSC-Combined Graduate Level (CGL) examination.

"We cleared the examination based on our merit. We have no involvement with any irregularities. The government has no right to punish us," said Mandal.

Chandni Kumar, another candidate, said, "We left everything behind for this job. I worked hard for years, cleared the exam, got appointments and have been diligently serving the government for months. Taking away our jobs now feels like taking away our future."

"Strict action should be taken against those who were involved in the alleged irregularities. If someone cheated, identify them and punish them. But why should the entire batch suffer?" Amit Kumar said.

Reacting to the situation, Congress media in-charge Rakesh Sinha said, "The government is serious about the concerns of successful candidates, and it will come out with a solution very soon."

Amid a 26-day students' protest over alleged irregularities in the recruitment exams, the JMM-led government cancelled 22 tests and ordered a probe into 23 others conducted by the state public service commission and an outsourced agency since 2014.

The government's move triggered panic among candidates who had successfully cleared these examinations and joined various government departments.

Among the cancelled exams is the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission - Combined Graduate Level (JSSC-CGL) test, prompting successful candidates to hit the streets.

The decision, announced after a cabinet meeting on Monday and followed by eight notifications issued late Tuesday night, covers recruitment examinations for several key administrative, technical and judicial posts.