Pioneer News Service
Ranchi
The Jharkhand government is serious about the ongoing agitation by students over alleged irregularities in competitive examinations and is making efforts to resolve their legitimate demands, AICC permanent invitee and Jharkhand in-charge K. Raju said on Monday.
Addressing a press conference at the Pradesh Congress Committee office in Ranchi, Raju said a high-level ministerial committee constituted by Chief Minister Hemant Soren had already held two rounds of talks with representatives of the protesting students, with agreement reached on nearly 90 per cent of their demands.
The committee, comprising ministers from the ruling alliance, is scheduled to hold another round of talks with student representatives on Monday. “Students are the future of the country and their concerns cannot be ignored. I am confident that the legitimate demands of the students will be resolved soon,” Raju said.
He said he had raised the issue with Chief Minister Soren during a meeting with senior Congress leaders, following which the government constituted the high-level committee. Raju also linked the Jharkhand students’ agitation with the Congress’s broader campaign for reforms in the education and examination system.
Referring to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s “Students’ Voice” programme, Raju said the party had consistently raised issues concerning paper leaks and examination irregularities and demanded systemic reforms to prevent such incidents.
Raju also criticised the Centre over the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, claiming that the legislation could adversely affect Jharkhand’s financial interests.
He alleged that Jharkhand could suffer an annual loss of around Rs 15,000 crore because of the changes and accused the BJP-led Central government of taking decisions without adequate consultation with mineral-rich states.
Congress Legislature Party leader Pradeep Yadav termed the legislation an “attack on the federal structure”, arguing that states dependent on mineral revenues could face a direct impact on their budgets.
Yadav said the party would decide on August 18 the nature of a state-wide agitation against the legislation. Congress state president Keshav Mahto Kamlesh said the party would strongly oppose what he described as the Centre’s “step-motherly treatment” of Jharkhand. He claimed that around Rs 1.36 lakh crore allegedly due to the state by the Centre remained unpaid.
Raju also said the Congress was closely monitoring the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and had appointed around 25,000 Booth Level Agents who were trained for the exercise.
He said the party had requested the Chief Electoral Officer to extend the enumeration period by 15 days, arguing that many voters could be unable to submit their forms within the stipulated time.
State Congress president Keshav Mahto Kamlesh said a meeting of the Political Affairs Committee would be held on Tuesday to discuss the current political and organisational situation and decide the party’s future strategy.
Minister Deepika Pandey Singh said the ministerial committee would again meet student representatives and expressed hope that the discussions would lead to a positive outcome.
Ministers Irfan Ansari and Shilpi Neha Tirkey also extended support to the students’ legitimate demands and criticised the Centre’s mineral legislation, saying it could adversely affect the interests of Jharkhand’s tribal and indigenous communities.
