Rahul Gandhi and the Congress have extended their support to job aspirants protesting alleged irregularities in Jharkhand's recruitment examinations, party's state in-charge K Raju said on Monday. He also appealed to Chief Minister Hemant Soren to address the students' concerns at the earliest.
The development came as the protesters entered the 24th day of their agitation, accusing the ruling JMM-Congress alliance of failing to take concrete steps to reform the recruitment examination system.
The students have also demanded that Congress withdraw its support from the JMM-led government if Soren does not act on their demands.
Rahul Gandhi writes to Hemant Soren
Raju said Gandhi wrote to Soren on August 14, asking him to meet representatives of the protesting students and address their remaining concerns.
"Gandhi wrote to Soren on August 14 and appreciated that the Jharkhand government has initiated a dialogue with the students through a committee instituted by the chief minister and has reached an agreement on several of their demands," Raju said at a press conference.
He expressed hope that a direct meeting between the chief minister and the students would help end the standoff.
In his letter, Gandhi said India's youth are its future and stressed that "we owe them our solidarity and support at this moment of crisis".
Seventh round of talks with protesters
Gandhi also backed the students' right to protest, saying, "The Congress party believes that the right to peaceful protest as enshrined in the Constitution of India is one of the central pillars of our democracy. We have, therefore, offered our full support to students protesting paper leaks and irregularities in the education system over the last few months."
He described the protesters' demands as legitimate and welcomed the state government's decision to hold talks with them.
"I am writing to suggest that you personally meet with representatives of the protesting students. This will help reinforce the government's commitment to resolve their remaining concerns," Gandhi said in the letter.
The state government committee is scheduled to hold another meeting with a delegation led by the JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch at 2 pm on Monday. It will be the seventh round of talks, with previous meetings failing to produce a breakthrough.
Congress attacks Centre over mining Bill
Raju also criticised the Centre over Parliament's passage of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026.
He alleged that the bill was passed without adequate discussion with states and claimed it could affect their finances by preventing them from imposing cess on mining activities.
"This will impact states' finances, as they will not be able to impose cess on mining activities. The state's welfare schemes may get affected," he said.