WHATEVER is happening in Jharkhand during the protests by students over alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations is a scary reminder of the dirty politics practiced by the country’s Opposition parties. Their double standards have become crystal clear over the protests even as Jharkhand Police resorted to use of force on the peaceful agitators during their march to the State Assembly. There was no trigger for police action during the march yet the State Government unleashed water cannons, tear gas shells, and lathi-charge on job aspirants leading to mass-scale physical injuries and mental scars. All this was frightening for the students in Jharkhand but a bigger shock came when the Opposition parties and the so-called “pressure group” from Jantar Mantar protest were conspicuously silent over the entire episode. This action on the protesting job aspirants in Jharkhand is set to rock Chief Minister Mr. Hemant Soren’s Government as the agitation has now spiralled into a mass movement in the State.

 

Despite cancellation of three exams by the State Government, the CM’s reluctance to accept the fourth demand of the students has raised several questions over his intent. It has riled the protesting students but they have still maintained decorum and decency in their agitation. Yet, the Soren administration chose to baton-force as a means to quell the protests. It was a blunder and poor thinking by the CM as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to ramp up its backing to the agitating students. Even as such developments unfolding at a rapid pace in Jharkhand, the Opposition led by the Congress party has chosen to indulge in mere lip-service. The same parties which tried to politically hijack the students’ agitation in Delhi are now silent on the Jharkhand stir.

 

This is nothing but politics of convenience by the Congress party as well as other political outfits. They tried to project themselves as sympathisers of the students during the Jantar Mantar protest but ended up cutting a sorry figure as the Centre dealt with the students in a cordial and amiable fashion. The protests by these parties were driven by the only aim of accruing political mileage and demeaning the Prime Minister. The Jharkhand student agitation has totally exposed their agendas and pathetic thinking. There is every reason to believe that the protests at Jantar Mantar under the banner of Cockroach Janta Party were staged as a larger plan to destabilise the nation. There were hints of turning the agitation into a Nepal-like anarchy and the Punjab Police have uncovered a plot linking Pakistan’s ISI agency with the Jantar Mantar protests.

 

The slogans raised during the speeches and the language used by the Gen Z protesters smacked of a bigger conspiracy to influence the vulnerable youngsters through social media. It was the good fortune of the country that the agitation was handled in a mature way by the Central Government. What surprised the nation was the late maneuvering by the Opposition parties to hijack the students’ protest for their political benefit. If the parties had genuine sympathy for the students, then it should have been at the forefront in Ranchi too. Yet, there is a jarring indifference by the same leaders and the Cockroach Janta Party towards the Jharkhand students. The nation will never miss this difference. It will call out the double talk by the Cockroach outfit office-bearers, who have announced support for students in Jharkhand but have failed to travel to Ranchi to join the agitation. The difference is stark and appalling. The two agitations within a few days have proved how political parties create pressure groups against the ruling dispensation and cherry-pick issues to go public. Delhi saw a downpour of concern and sympathy for youngsters from political parties while Ranchi is witnessing an icy-cold response from the same group of leaders. Gen Z must draw lessons from the two episodes and the nation must remember the political bias.