Pioneer News Service
Ranchi
Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee media in-charge Rakesh Sinha on Tuesday termed the BJP’s statewide bandh a “complete failure”, alleging that the party had attempted to hijack the ongoing student agitation over JPSC-JSSC examinations for political gains.
Sinha said students had exposed the BJP’s alleged political motives during Monday’s agitation, while the public had “shown the BJP the mirror” by refusing to support Tuesday’s shutdown.
He alleged that the BJP had called the bandh in the name of students’ future but was actually attempting to use their grievances as a political tool to regain lost ground in the State.
“BJP leaders should explain where they were when students were fighting for their rights. Why has the party suddenly started speaking in the name of students?” Sinha said, adding that people were aware of the political developments surrounding the agitation.
He accused the BJP of practising “opportunistic politics” by seeking political mileage from the students’ movement and subsequently calling a bandh that, he claimed, caused inconvenience to the public.
Sinha said the Congress stood with the students and would continue to support their demands for employment, transparent examinations and fair recruitment.
“Students’ issues cannot be used as a political weapon. The BJP cannot be allowed to pursue politics from behind the students,” he said.
Sinha claimed that the response to Tuesday’s bandh had sent a clear message that people in Jharkhand were no longer willing to be influenced by what he described as the BJP’s political tactics.
