A day after the police action on students, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Tuesday (August 11, 2026) launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and called them a “parasite” during a speech in the Assembly.
On the last day of the Assembly’s monsoon session, which was adjourned sine die a day before the scheduled date, Mr. Soren asserted that he had been under the impression that nothing was left in the Opposition to raise a banner.
‘Students as shield’
“I was observing the chain of events of the past few days. It seemed that the Opposition had nothing left. Yet, they were attempting to demonstrate their strength by using students as a shield. Through various guises, they sustain themselves through different sources, much like a parasite survives,” Mr. Soren said in the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly.
He, however, added that over time, whatever little substance remained in the Opposition would also disappear. Throughout the session, the ruling coalition and the Opposition continuously attacked each other over student protests and alleged irregularities in Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) examinations.
In his address, Mr. Soren said that TDPL, the company responsible for irregularities in the examinations, is based in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh. He alleged that a conspiracy was being hatched from there, involving people from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, to mislead the youth of Jharkhand.
“The government’s intention is absolutely clear. We have already clarified our stance regarding the 14th JPSC examination as well as the backlog examinations for 2023 and 2025,” Mr. Soren said.
On the other hand, a mixed response was witnessed during the Jharkhand Bandh call given by the BJP over the police action on the students. All top leaders of the Jharkhand unit of BJP came out onto the streets to protest, including State president Aditya Sahu.
BJP workers and leaders registered their protest by burning tyres in several areas, while shops were also forcibly closed in some places. Vehicular traffic was disrupted due to road blockade by the protesters.
ABVP members detained
Also, hundreds of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) members were detained by the Jharkhand police when they held a protest march from Old Vidhan Sabha to New Vidhan Sabha in Ranchi.
Later in the day, while addressing a press conference at the BJP State office, Mr. Sahu held Congress leader Rahul Gandhi responsible for the police action on students.
“To crush and suppress the student movement, barbed wire was used, tear gas shells were fired, and students were subjected to atrocities involving lathi-charges and water cannons. All of this was done by the State government at the behest of Rahul Gandhi,” Mr. Sahu alleged.
He stated that Mr. Gandhi demanded the resignation of BJP leader Dharmendra Pradhan as Union Education Minister but never demanded a similar ouster of Jharkhand’s Education Minister.
The manner in which students protesting democratically were treated by officials meant August 10 turned out to be a ‘black day’ for Jharkhand, Mr. Sahu added. The BJP State president termed the ‘Jharkhand Bandh’ called by the party to protest against the police excess as a success.
Meanwhile, the agitating students continued their peaceful protest at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium in the State capital.
The Congress alleged that some members of the BJP’s Yuva Morcha were being brought in from West Bengal in trucks to Jharkhand, and an attempt was being made to give a “different colour” to the ongoing non-violent student movement.
Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal shared a video clip purportedly showing youth allegedly being sent by the BJP to participate in the Jharkhand student protest against exam irregularities.
In a post in Hindi on X, Mr. Venugopal said: “Behold another example of the petty politics of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. Some boys from the BJP Yuva Morcha are being transported from West Bengal in trucks to Jharkhand, and an attempt is being made there to give a different colour to the ongoing non-violent student movement.”
“They think that if a fake crowd is sent to the Jharkhand movement to make it look bigger, then the public outrage that has arisen against them will die down. Modi ji, stop thinking of and treating the people of India as fools,” the Congress leader said.
Published – August 11, 2026 10:41 pm IST
