The second round of talks between the Jharkhand government and student representatives protesting alleged irregularities in government recruitment examinations ended without a breakthrough on Saturday, prolonging a dispute that the state government has so far struggled to resolve.

The students, however, said the government had heard their demands and that they would wait for the issues to be placed before Chief Minister Hemant Soren before deciding whether to withdraw their hunger strike.

The controversy began after the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) announced the preliminary examination results of the 14th Combined Civil Services Examination on July 2. The Commission shortlisted 2,204 candidates for 103 vacancies, but allegations of irregularities emerged soon after. Around 3.5 lakh candidates appeared for the examination.

At the centre of the ongoing protest are allegations of paper leaks in the examination. The Soren government has taken several steps in response, including the arrest of 19 people. The Chief Minister has also expressed support for the protesting youth. However, the demonstrations have continued.

On Saturday, an eight-member delegation of the JPSC-JSSC Abhyarthi Nyay Manch left the protest site at Ranchi’s Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium and reached a guesthouse in Morabadi around 10:30 am for the meeting. The talks began at around 11:30 am.

The delegation reiterated demands raised by the JPSC-JSSC Reform Manch, which had held talks with the government on Friday night. Saturday’s meeting also included additional demands concerning candidates appearing for various recruitment examinations, including the TGT examination and other teacher recruitment tests.

The government was represented by Sudivya Kumar Sonu, Chamra Linda, Deepika Singh Pandey and Sanjay Yadav.

After the meeting, Sonu appealed to students and candidates to submit their suggestions and concerns to the government through a dedicated email so that the issues could be examined.

Student representative Chandan Rajak said the demands would now be taken forward to Chief Minister Soren. He said the students would decide whether to end their hunger strike and agitation only after a decision was taken on their demands.

Meanwhile, the number of protesters at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium continued to increase. Two students on hunger strike were taken to Sadar Hospital after their health deteriorated, while several other protesters were also reported to be unwell.

Student groups from both major organisations have announced plans to march towards the Assembly and stage a gherao on August 10.

Several student and political organisations have also extended support to the protests. The ABVP clashed with police during demonstrations on Friday, while the AISA organised a march in Ranchi.

The Jharkhand Chhatra Morcha (JCM), the student wing of the ruling JMM, has also submitted five demands to the government panel, including cancellation of the 14th JPSC examination.

The NSUI has submitted six demands, including a CID investigation into JPSC and JSSC examinations under suspicion within 90 days and the establishment of the Jharkhand Testing Agency on the lines of the National Testing Agency.

Adivasi Chatra Sangh leader Kartik Oraon said the organisation has demanded that tribal and regional languages be included as qualifying papers in recruitment examinations.

According to Devendra Nath Mahto, a student leader associated with JLKM and one of those observing the hunger strike, the primary demand is the immediate cancellation of the 14th Jharkhand PSC Civil Services Examination and all examinations conducted by the agency.

Mahto said that if the government had accepted the students’ demands during Friday’s meeting with the 10-member delegation, there would have been no need for another meeting on Saturday, as the demands raised by the two groups are largely similar.