As the JPSC-JSSC students’ protest entered its 19th day, protesters on Sunday announced a change in the “framework of their movement” as they issued an ultimatum to the Jharkhand government and warned of a march to Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s residence on August 20 if their demands were not fulfilled.

The students also officially announced, for the first time, that they would demand the CM’s resignation if the government fails to meet their demands. They also announced plans to burn the effigies of Soren, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other leaders associated with the ruling alliance across all 24 districts of Jharkhand on Sunday evening.

The announcement marks an important turn in the student agitation, which has intensified since the August 10 march towards the Jharkhand Assembly, when protesters clashed with police and the latter used water cannons, tear gas and lathi charge to disperse the crowd.

Piyush Singh, a spokesperson for the JPSC-JSSC Reform Manch, said the students have four principal demands: Cancellation of the JSSC-CGL (Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission-Combined Graduate Level) examination, cancellation of the 11th to 13th JPSC examinations, cancellation of all examinations conducted through or linked to TDPL (the testing agency), and involvement of the CBI in the ongoing inquiries.

Last week, as the government announced cancellation of three JPSC-linked examinations, a minister said the CGL exam results could not be cancelled as the process was conducted under the monitoring of the Supreme Court and the High Court.

“If these demands are not fulfilled by the government, we will march towards the Chief Minister’s residence. We are officially announcing for the first time that if these demands are not met, the Chief Minister will have to resign,” Singh said.

“10 August toh bas jhaanki hai, 20 August abhi baaki hai (August 10 was just a preview, watch out for August 20),” Singh said, referring to the planned escalation of the movement. He described the announcement as an ultimatum to the government and raised the slogan, “Naukri chor, gaddi chhod (those who stole the jobs will have to leave their chair).”

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‘Not Gandhi, we will become Bhagat Singh’

Another student leader, Ravindra Paswan, said the protesters would now change the framework of their movement. “The time has come to change the framework of the movement. The Gandhian movement is over. Now we will become Bhagat Singh. Even if we have to take a bullet, we will take it on our chest,” Paswan said.

The student leaders said the next phase of the agitation would focus on intensifying pressure on the government if their demands are not addressed.

Responding to the students’ ultimatum, spokesperson of the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) Manoj Pandey said the government has been taking the issue seriously since the beginning.

“Everything has been taken seriously from Day 1. Even before the students started the protest, we were taking the matter seriously. We have never taken it lightly. We have been arresting people one after the other,” Pandey said.

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He alleged that the protest was being used by people with interests beyond those of the students and questioned who was “using the shoulders of the students” to target the JMM-led government in the state.

Pandey also questioned the involvement of coaching operators and teachers in the movement. “Why is there a need for coaching operators or coaching teachers to come into this matter? Why are they guiding the students?” he said.

He suggested that the government was examining who was behind the agitation and who was attempting to exploit the students’ movement for political purposes.