Ranchi, India – Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday, calling the party a “parasite” during a speech in the Assembly, a day after police action on protesting students. Soren also accused the Opposition of using students as a shield to demonstrate their strength. “It seemed that the Opposition had nothing left. Yet, they were attempting to demonstrate their strength by using students as a shield. Through various guises, they sustain themselves through different sources, much like a parasite survives,” he said. He added that over time, whatever little substance remained in the Opposition would also disappear.
Soren alleged that a conspiracy was being hatched from Lucknow, involving people from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, to mislead the youth of Jharkhand, pointing to the company responsible for examination irregularities, TDPL, which is based in Lucknow. He reiterated the government’s clear stance on the 14th JPSC examination and the backlog examinations for 2023 and 2025. Meanwhile, the BJP called a statewide bandh to protest the police action on students, which saw a mixed response. BJP workers burned tyres and blocked roads in several areas, while shops were forcibly closed in some places. Hundreds of ABVP members were detained by police during a protest march in Ranchi.
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BJP State president Aditya Sahu, addressing a press conference, held Congress leader Rahul Gandhi responsible for the police action, alleging that the state government acted at his behest. Sahu also questioned why Gandhi did not demand the ouster of Jharkhand’s Education Minister, while demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The Congress countered by alleging that some members of the BJP’s Yuva Morcha were being brought in from West Bengal in trucks to give a “different colour” to the student movement. Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal shared a video clip, accusing the BJP of trying to manipulate the protest. The agitating students, meanwhile, continued their peaceful protest at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium.
