Jharkhand bandh sees mixed response; student protest sparks Opposition face-off in Parliament

The bandh called by the BJP across Jharkhand and the Assembly gherao programme organised by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in Ranchi on Tuesday, in protest against the police lathicharge on students agitating over alleged irregularities in the JPSC and JSSC recruitment examinations, witnessed a mixed response, while the issue triggered a political face-off between the BJP-led NDA and the Opposition in Parliament.

In Ranchi, BJP workers staged demonstrations and blocked roads at several locations, while ABVP activists attempting to march towards the Jharkhand Assembly were stopped and detained by police.

Despite sporadic disruptions, normal life remained largely unaffected in many parts of Ranchi during the morning hours. Most commercial establishments remained open and vehicular movement was largely smooth across the city.

From around 8 a.m., BJP workers took to the streets in several localities, urging traders to down shutters in support of the bandh. Road blockades were reported from Kanke Road, Ratu Road, Harmu Chowk, Argora Chowk, Bodeya and near the CMPDI gate.

Protesters also burnt tyres at several places, disrupting traffic for brief periods before police personnel cleared the roads and restored movement.

In Namkum, BJP workers staged a sit-in protest at Bazaar Chowk around 11 a.m. and blocked the Ranchi-Jamshedpur highway after burning tyres. Police later detained the protesters and removed the blockade, resulting in long queues of vehicles on both sides of the highway.

A similar protest was organised in Lowadih under the leadership of BJP Mandal president Ashok Gop. According to police, 11 bandh supporters were detained from Lowadih and 17 from Namkum and taken to the local police station.

However, the impact of the bandh was uneven across the state capital, with markets remaining open and traffic moving normally in several areas, including Main Road, Bariatu and Morabadi.

Meanwhile, the ABVP's Assembly gherao programme saw activists from across the state gather near the old Assembly complex to protest Monday's police action against students associated with the JPSC-JSSC movement.

Sloganeering activists sat on the road and attempted to proceed towards the Assembly premises but were stopped by police. A brief scuffle ensued between protesters and security personnel during the standoff.

Police subsequently detained the activists and escorted them into buses. In a dramatic show of protest, some student leaders climbed onto bus roofs and continued raising slogans, while others lay down on the road in front of and behind the vehicles.

Outside Ranchi, the bandh had a more pronounced impact in several districts, including Hazaribagh, Palamu, Giridih and Chatra, where BJP workers organised demonstrations and road blockades, affecting vehicular movement.

In Palamu district, BJP workers blocked roads at Chhahmuhan and Redma Chowk in Daltonganj from the early hours of the morning. BJP's Palamu district president Amit Tiwari accused the state government of endangering the future of the state's youth through alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations.

In Simdega, party workers blocked National Highway-143 at multiple locations, including Biru, disrupting traffic. Similar road blockades were reported from Dhanwar in Giridih district and Pratappur in Chatra district.

The bandh call came a day after clashes erupted between students and police during a march towards the Jharkhand Assembly. Thousands of students had gathered on Monday demanding cancellation of the disputed JPSC and JSSC examinations, reforms in the recruitment process and a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities.

Police had erected multiple barricades to prevent protesters from advancing towards the Assembly. Water cannons and tear gas were used to disperse the crowd, following which a lathicharge was carried out. Several students and police personnel were reportedly injured in the confrontation.

The issue also reverberated in Parliament on Tuesday, with NDA and Opposition MPs staging separate protests outside Makar Dwar over the Jharkhand students' stir and the disruption of Parliament proceedings.

The BJP-led NDA accused the Opposition of "stalling" Parliament proceedings, while the Opposition demanded that Union Home Minister Amit Shah be present in the House to address the issue of police action against the protesting students.

NDA MPs carried placards and raised slogans targeting the Opposition and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, accusing them of "running away" from a discussion on the police action against students.

The BJP-led alliance MPs were seen carrying placards bearing slogans such as "Grah Mantri ki Charcha se Rahul Gandhi bhago mat (Rahul Gandhi, don't run away from Home Minister's reply)," alleging that the Opposition was deliberately avoiding a discussion on the issue.

Some MPs also held banners condemning the Opposition's "silence" over the police action against peacefully protesting students in Jharkhand and demanded a statement from Rahul Gandhi.

Meanwhile, Congress MPs staged a counter-protest, demanding that Home Minister Amit Shah come to the House and make a statement. They raised slogans including "Amit Shah Sadan mei aao (Amit Shah, come to the House)," insisting that the Home Minister personally address Parliament on the police action against the students.

Speaking to IANS, Congress MP Pawan Khera launched a sharp attack on the BJP and the RSS while demanding the Home Minister's presence in Parliament.

"Home Minister Amit Shah runs away, we don't. They call themselves a 'Loh Purush', but the iron has rusted. These RSS people have always been like this. They are the biggest cowards," Khera said.

"Let our government come to power, and we will give them a fitting reply. The organisation called the RSS will cease to exist," he added.

Congress MP Ujjwal Raman Singh, defending the Jharkhand government, hit out at the BJP over its criticism of the state administration.

"You are in power, yet you are unable to accomplish anything. You talk about Jharkhand, where the government is addressing the issue. Our leader Rahul Gandhi has said that students should not be suppressed and that their concerns should be heard," Singh told IANS.

Meanwhile, BJP MP Dinesh Sharma accused Rahul Gandhi of adopting a selective approach towards issues concerning students and alleged that he had ignored the developments in Jharkhand.

"He has turned a blind eye to the atrocities in Jharkhand. This selective approach will no longer work," Sharma told IANS.

BJP MP Sambit Patra also strongly criticised Rahul Gandhi and the Opposition over the police action against students in Jharkhand, questioning who was responsible for ordering the use of force against the protesters.

"The brutality against the students who were peacefully protesting in Jharkhand is condemnable. Who ordered the lathi-charge and such actions? Members of Rahul Gandhi's party are part of the Jharkhand government as MLAs and ministers. Is Rahul Gandhi not culpable? Did all this not happen under his direction?" Patra told IANS.

"If it did not happen on his orders, then Rahul Gandhi should come before the media and clarify that he will withdraw support from the Jharkhand government," he added.

"When the government has announced that the Home Minister will deliver his statement in Parliament over the students' protest, Rahul Gandhi has again run away. This won't work, and Rahul Gandhi will have to answer," Patra said.

The face-off outside Parliament came amid continued disruptions inside the House, as both the government and Opposition maintained their respective positions over the issue of police action against protesting students.

Former Union Education Minister and Sambalpur MP Dharmendra Pradhan also launched a sharp attack on Congress, alleging that the party's commitment to democracy is "selective".

Taking to social media platform X, Pradhan accused Congress of misleading students and spreading misinformation, while alleging that the party resorts to violence against youth in states where it is in power and creates disruption where it seeks political advantage.

"Congress is continuously spreading lies regarding students' interests; Rahul Gandhi lacks facts, and the Leader of Opposition, who habitually lies, neither wants to come to Parliament nor listen to answers. They just want to spread their lies and shed crocodile tears," Pradhan said.

The BJP leader also criticised Congress for making allegations against Union Home Minister Amit Shah, calling them baseless and politically motivated.

"Making baseless, factless false accusations against the Honorable Home Minister Shri Amit Shah ji reveals the political desperation of Rahul Gandhi and the Congress. The government is ready for discussion in Parliament on every issue, but Congress is obstructing the temple of democracy 'Parliament House' and crushing the interests of the country and the youth," he said.

Pradhan further said the Opposition's intention was not the welfare of the country but to prioritise its own interests.

"Because their intention is not the welfare of the country, but to prioritise their own interests first. When there is discussion in the House, these people create chaos outside, because they do not have the capacity to listen to answers in the House," he said.

Continuing his attack, Pradhan said, "Congress's democracy is also 'Selective,' violence against youth where they are in government, and lies and commotion where they want to shine politically. The brutality against students in Jharkhand has been witnessed by the entire country. But the question is, why is Rahul Gandhi, who holds press conferences on every issue, maintaining silence today? The youth of the country have fully understood this duplicitous character of the Congress. There is no place for dictatorship in democracy; Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party, which operates on the mindset of the Emergency era, should understand this well."

Earlier on August 9, Pradhan had spoken about his resignation as Education Minister, saying he had approached Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address the aspirations of students protesting over the NEET examination controversy and stressing that "nothing is above the nation's interest".

Speaking at events in Sambalpur and Rairakhol on Saturday, Pradhan said the younger generation had been subjected to attempts to "mislead" them during the protests but maintained that he had no personal stake in retaining the Education Minister's post.

"Gen Z is our children. Some people attempted to mislead them. I had no personal issues then," he had said.

The BJP leader said around two crore children are born in India every year and that the aspirations of the younger generation would be crucial to the country's ambition of becoming a "Vishwa Guru".