Job aspirants in Jharkhand are set to engage in fresh talks with the state government on Monday, as their protest against alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations enters its 24th day. The demonstrators are demanding a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities and the cancellation of the JSSC-CGL examination.
The Jharkhand government has cancelled all recruitment tests conducted by outsourced agency TSR Data Processing Pvt Ltd (TDPL) since 2014, including the JSSC-CGL exam, in response to student protests. However, agitators are continuing their demonstration, demanding a CBI probe into alleged irregularities.
Students in Jharkhand are intensifying their protests against alleged irregularities in state recruitment examinations, demanding Chief Minister Hemant Soren's resignation and planning to gherao his residence on August 20, while the CM assures impartial investigations and systemic reforms.
Modi accused the JMM, Congress and RJD of using Bangladeshi infiltrators for "vote bank politics," facilitating their settlement in Jharkhand, which is a threat to the state's social structure.
A total of 45 MLAs voted in favour of the confidence motion in the 81-member assembly.
The meeting, proposed at the CM House, has been called to discuss strategy over the current political situation and the Enforcement Directorate's proposed questioning of Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Wednesday, he said.
'I don't believe there is an international conspiracy to swamp tribals in India or in Jharkhand.'
Several Oppn parties linked the mandate to CAA and NRC, saying people have demolished 'arrogance' of the BJP, which attributed its defeat to local issues and 'internal strife' in the state.
The response was tepid in other parts of the country even as several INDIA bloc parties as well as other non-BJP outfits extended their support to the bandh.
The assembly polls in Maharashtra will be held in a single phase while Jharkhand polls will be held in two phases, the Election Commission of India announced on Tuesday.
The final round of voting for the Jharkhand Assembly elections is taking place on Wednesday, with the JMM-Congress-RJD coalition seeking to retain power while the BJP-led NDA aims to take control. The election will decide the fate of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, his wife, and several other candidates. Key issues during the campaign included alleged infiltration from Bangladesh, corruption, and Hindutva.
However, in 950 booths, voting will end at 4 pm, though people standing in the queue at that time will be able to exercise their franchise.
Hemant Soren on Wednesday resigned as Jharkhand chief minister after more than seven hours of questioning by the ED in a money laundering case, and senior JMM leader Champai Soren was named as his successor.
The legislators landed at the Birsa Munda Airport in Ranchi in a chartered flight and were taken to the Circuit House in the city in two buses.
"Hemant Soren repeatedly ignored my advice and eventually landed in jail... he has always been surrounded by wrong advisors," Hembrom, a lawmaker from Borio seat in Sahibganj district, told reporters.
Eighteen Jharkhand Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs were suspended from the assembly till 2 pm of August 2 and were removed by marshals after they refused to leave the House on Thursday.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Thursday said he will attend the inauguration of the Ram temple at Ayodhya in January if he is invited to the programme.
Hemant Soren was also formally elected as the JMM legislature party leader.
Seventy-seven MLAs were present in the assembly during the voting.
'He fears that the youth tide has gone against him and he will be swept away in the next assembly election in the state.'
At least 30 MLAs of the ruling United Progressive Alliance coalition in Jharkhand camping in a resort near the Chhattisgarh capital since August 30 flew back to Ranchi in a chartered aircraft on Sunday afternoon to attend the special session of the assembly scheduled for Monday, sources said.
The move comes a day after the government called a special session of Parliament between September 18 and 22, the agenda for which is under wraps.
Sources claimed 48-year-old Soren was "evasive" in his replies during his questioning and hence was taken into custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
As trends for the Jharkhand assembly elections showed the Congress-Jharkhand Mukti Morcha alliance ahead of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, the Nationalist Congress Party on Monday said people of Jharkhand have demolished the "arrogance" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the saffron party president Amit Shah.
Amid confusion over the continuation of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren as an MLA, Governor Ramesh Bais on Friday went to Delhi, a day after ruling United Progressive Alliance MLAs urged him to clear the air over the EC's recommendation on the matter.
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha working president Hemant Soren was on Sunday sworn in as the 11th chief minister of Jharkhand at Morhabadi Ground in Ranchi. Governor Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office and secrecy to Soren, in the presence of senior political leaders and chief ministers from across states.
"The governor has returned to Ranchi...so far he has not issued any order," an official source in Raj Bhavan said.
The MLAs of the ruling United Progressive Alliance coalition in Jharkhand on Tuesday arrived in Raipur by a chartered flight in a bid to thwart the Bharatiya Janata Party's possible attempt to poach them, and moved into a nearby luxurious resort.
Given the dismal show of the Congress in the recently concluded assembly polls and the JMM eating into its vote bank, the possibility of Congress MLAs switching sides is not bleak, reports R Krishna Das.
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha's vote share in the just-concluded Jharkhand assembly polls has slumped to 18.72 per cent despite the party winning 30 of the total 81 seats in the state. The JMM had won 19 seats in 2014 polls with a vote share of 20.43 per cent. This time the party bagged 30 seats but its vote share came down to 18.72 per cent.
'We will do a holistic review of the entire act and the policy at the state level and I need to be convinced that not a single Jharkhandi is uprooted from his or her home due to this law'
Marandi was the chief minister of Jharkhand from November 2000 to March 2003.
'The people of Jharkhand know that Modi is not going to become chief minister, so why should they vote for the BJP?'
