Ranchi (Jharkhand) [India], August 19 (ANI): Jharkhand Minister Irfan Ansari on Wednesday reiterated that the government is standing with the youth, remarks coming after the Hemant Soren-led government yielded to the demands of the protesting students and cancelled 22 exams.
He also credited Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi for playing a “big role” after the government cancelled the exams.
“A consensus has been reached. Some boys are sitting on a dharna and will probably end the dharna by this evening because our government has taken a very big decision, in which all examinations have been canceled, and Rahul Gandhi has played a very big role in this, there was his pressure that the youth should be supported… the government is with the youth…”, he told reporters here earlier in the day.
Students in Ranchi took out an ‘Aabhaar Yatra’ from Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium to Albert Ekka Chowk on Tuesday, two days after the Jharkhand government accepted several of their demands, including the cancellation of the JSSC-CGL examination. The procession, organised to thank supporters and the government following the prolonged agitation, saw the participation of several student leaders and a large number of students.
The atmosphere during the march was celebratory, with students raising slogans and carrying the national flag. People were seen dancing on the streets, bursting firecrackers and applying gulal to each other.
Student leader Devendra Nath Mahato, one of the prominent faces of the agitation who observed a 16-day hunger strike, also joined the Aabhaar Yatra. Mahato was lifted onto the shoulders of fellow protesters as supporters celebrated what they described as a major victory for the student movement.
Mahato said the prolonged protest and his 16-day hunger strike had contributed to the government’s decision to act on the students’ demands.
“Our ‘satyagraha’ continued for days, and I observed a hunger strike for 16 days. As a result, the student protest saw a major victory. Action was taken on 45 exams, and 22 exams were cancelled…This is a massive attack on corruption. Paper mafia and education mafia are being dismantled,” Mahato said.
The Aabhaar Yatra came after the Jharkhand government accepted the demands raised by the protesting students. (ANI)
Related reading
