Ranchi: PhysicsWallah founder and educator Alakh Pandey visited the Jharkhand students’ protest site late Thursday night, on the 20th day of the agitation, and appealed to the state government to visit the site and listen to the students’ demands. Pandey, who had returned from Assam, also backed their demand for a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in JSSC examinations and said, “Students ko peetna koi solution nahi” (beating students is not a solution).
“Just came from Assam Floods, and now I am here in Jharkhand. Students ko peetna koi solution nahi, Jharkhand ke CM ko students ki baat sunni chahiye. I STAND WITH THE STUDENTS,” Pandey wrote in a post on X.
He appealed to the state government to visit the protest site, where students have been demonstrating against alleged paper leaks and irregularities in examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC).
The protests intensified on August 10, when students marching to gherao the state Assembly were stopped by police and subjected to a lathi-charge. While the government has accepted some of the protesters’ demands, the students are seeking a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities in the JSSC CGL examination, among other demands.
“My first appeal to the government would be: please come here. From what I can see, these are very peaceful and sincere students, and I don’t think you will face any difficulty. You can come here without heavy security; nothing will happen,” Pandey said.
Backs CBI probe demand
At the protest site, Pandey was asked why he had taken so long to come to Jharkhand. He replied that he was in Assam for a week.
“These students’ problems are genuine. Their demands should be heard. The CBI investigation should happen. We are getting tired of seeing students fight,” he said.
Pandey spent a few hours at the protest site late into the night. He said the government was not taking sufficient action against those involved in leaking and distributing question papers.
“After the examination, it has started to feel like we are not even waiting for the results anymore; we are simply waiting for the news of who leaked the paper and who was selected,” he said.
He thanked the government for taking action in the JPSC examination, but called for action in the JSSC matter as well.
“Out of 1,900 seats, around 400 seats are allegedly being taken by a single family or an individual who is involved in selling seats. The students are not satisfied with a CID inquiry. Their demand is for an impartial CBI investigation,” Pandey added.
Pandey said he had not come to praise the protest, but because he was saddened by the situation.
“If people in this country have to come out onto the streets and protest for the truth and for their rights, that is certainly not something to celebrate. We should not be celebrating the fact that people are forced to protest. This is a failure of the system,” he said.
(Edited by Prashant Dixit)