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ARROGANCE OF POWER!
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ARROGANCE OF POWER!

Aug 15- Aug 21, 2026, Cover Story August 14, 2026 , by

Whether it is New Delhi or JMM-ruled Jharkhand or Congress-ruled Karnataka, the people in power are all uniformly arrogant. They stopped listening to the people who voted them to power. They have stopped listening to the angry protests against corruption in admissions and corruption in recruitment to government jobs. Corruption in promotions and corruption at every level in all government departments. People in power want to crush youth power under their boots.

THE Jharkhand protest reveal a much deeper crisis. A crisis beyond leaking exam question papers. The Jharkhand protest is a livelihood issue. The Jharkhand protest is again about rampant corruption in recruitment to government jobs by the Central and State governments. The protest against the Jharkhand Public Service Commission conducted exams goes to the heart of the corruption and lack of accountability among the elected representatives of the people.
 In a tragic action replay of the Jantar Mantar protest in Delhi, police brutality unleashed on the peaceful protesters marching to the Vidyan Sadan which is the legislative assembly of Jharkhand. The twist in the tale is that Jharkhand ruled by a non-BJP Jharkhand Mukti Morcha government in which the Congress party is a partner. Just as the Congress hijacked the Jantar Mantar protest of the National Cockroach party the BJP youth wing has been trying to hijack the independent students protest in Jharkhand. The BJP has gone one step further than the Congress and organized a Jharkhand bandh on Wednesday, August 11, to protest against the police brutality. Rahul Gandhi has not gone to Jharkhand. In sharp contrast Neha Bora, president of the CPM linked Students Federation of India is very much at Jharkhand. The NCP has extended support but is not there on the ground at Jharkhand.
The current Jharkhand agitation is a youth inspired job aspirant revolt over alleged corruption in government recruitment exams. It is centered on the Jharkhand Public Service Commission and the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission. The job aspirants have accused the Jharkhand government of paper leaks and cheating. Of cancellation and delays in recruitment. Lack of transparency and accountability in the exams conducted by the government. The failure to protect candidates who have spent years preparing for government jobs. Thousands marched in Ranchi on July 29 demanding the cancellation of the 14th JPSC exams and demanded an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation. The protest escalated on Aug 10 when thousands attempted to march towards the legislative assembly which was in session. In Jharkhand the police used barbed wire fences to keep out the protestors from the assembly. The protestors dismantled the barbed wire and carried it away. Ironically, the police lathi-charged and tear-gassed students from meeting their elected representatives in the legislative assembly. The stand-off between the Hemant Soren government and the students was over the core demand for a CBI enquiry. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) government believes that the BJP will use the CBI enquiry to topple the non-BJP government in Jharkhand. Not surprisingly, the BJP opposition in Jharkhand has backed the demand for a CBI enquiry. Never mind that Amit Shah and Narendra Modi have yet to make a statement on the Jantar Mantar protest in the ongoing session of the Lok Sabha in Delhi. The revolt is led by Devendra Nath Mahato. The 30-year-old yuva leader who has been on an indefinite hunger fast for the last 16 days. Devendra Nath is not aligned to any political party.
However, Neha Bora and the CPM youth brigade has joined the protest and so has the National Students Union affiliated to the Congress. The most aggressive of the political parties is the BJP which has only 22 seats in the 80-member assembly. Unlike in the case of the Jantar Mantar protest, Jharkhand’s famous icon Mahendra Singh Dhoni has not come out in support of the protestors. The failure of the Jharkhand JMM coalition government to address the genuine grievances of the young people is symptomatic of the arrogance of power. It has been seen not only in Jharkhand but in the Congress-ruled Karnataka. The Karnataka home minister has refused an enquiry in the leakage of the question paper for recruitment of police constables.


Corruption in government recruitment exams is endemic. There was an agitation against a leakage of question papers of the Rajasthan Public Service Commission which is ruled by the BJP. The state ruled by Yogi Adityanath witnessed a paper leak in the recruitment of assistant registrar in 2024. In Gujarat, there have been repeated paper leaks. The police are reportedly investigating leaks in at least 11 recruitment exams between 2014 and 2024. Other states where papers have leaked are Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh. At the national level, the most serious leak is in relation to exams conducted by the National Testing Authority. An Indian Express investigation has found that there were 45 major exam paper leaks linked to recruitment, affecting more than two lakh students in various states ruled not only by the BJP but by Opposition parties as well. Of the cases investigated by the CBI, only in two cases have there been convictions. In the state of Gujarat, there have been 201 arrests in 11 cases but no convictions till July 2026. It is not a surprise that the protestors have rejected an investigation by the local police. The accountability even in Jharkhand seems to have stopped at the level of the chairman of the Jharkhand Public Service Commission and its two members who have now been arrested. The politicians who appointed them, namely the chief minister and education minister, will not be investigated by the state police.
Goa may be the next Jantar Mantar and Jharkhand. The chairman of the Goa State Public Service Commission is an Ayurvedic doctor from Maharashtra, Dr Uday Singh Rao Rane. He first joined the Goa Public Service Commission as a member in August 2023. He was subsequently appointed as chairman from March 1, 2024. There is a petition pending in high court against his appointment. The petitioners have pointed out that it is an ad hoc appointment by the chief minister. Indeed, the chief minister mentioned on a file on March 2, 2023 claiming that it was desired to appoint Rao Rane to the Public Service Commission. At that time Rao Rane was working for the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences, a private university in Nasik. Rao Rane started his career at the Tilak Ayurveda College in Pune and pursued an MD in Ayurveda. Interestingly, Rao Rane also has a diploma in Urdu. His profile claims that he is an expert at conducting health science examinations. Incidentally, Dr Rao Rane has been allotted a row house in Kamat Kinara at Miramar in Panjim which is owned by the Health Minister Pratapsingh Raoji Rane. Though the Goa Public Service Commission is a three member body, the other two members have yet to be appointed and Pramod Sawant’s candidate is now the supremo. Not surprisingly Dr Medha Salkar, wife of Dr Shekar Salkar, chairman of the BJP Medical Cell, has been appointed director of the Medical Services, bypassing the claims of others seniors to her. Dr Medha is only a chief medical officer while the recruitment rules stipulate that only deputy directors are eligible for promotion to the post of director of the Health Services. Such political appointments become the source of corruption in government recruitment.

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