Ranchi, Aug 9: The Jharkhand government committee set up to talk to students protesting the alleged recruitment exam irregularities, on Sunday talked to Devendra Nath Mahto, one of the individuals who has been on an indefinite hunger strike for the past eight days, an official said.
The condition of Mahto had deteriorated around 3 am. Doctors found that his blood glucose level was low.
Talking to Mahto through a video call, Higher and Technical Education Minister Sudivya Kumar, a member of the panel, inquired about his health and assured him that talks were underway and the issue would be resolved during the day.
Mahto said that another panel member, minister Dipika Pandey Singh, also urged him to end the hunger strike.
Mahto said he would decide on it only after the delegates of the protesters returned from the meeting with the panel.
The Jharkhand government has begun fresh talks on Sunday with aspirants protesting alleged recruitment exam irregularities for the 16th day now, with a prominent student faction terming the Hemant Soren dispensation’s move “political manoeuvring”.
The decision to hold another round of talks was taken after a series of meetings between the government and student groups on Friday night and throughout Saturday failed to break the deadlock.
The state government on Friday night held discussions with the JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch which has been spearheading the agitation. Throughout the next day, it held four rounds of talks with different student groups, including the Congress’s student wing NSUI, Jharkhand Chhatra Morcha (JCM) and Adivasi Chhatra Sangh (ACS).
However, since the meetings remained inconclusive, the government decided to hold a sixth round of talks with student representatives around 12 pm on Sunday.
Despite the talks, the protesters have maintained that their agitation will continue until all their demands are fulfilled. They have also announced a march to the Assembly on August 10 if the government fails to meet their demands by Sunday. (PTI)
