Jharkhand Talks Remain Inconclusive as Student Protests Continue

The second round of talks between the 5-member ministerial committee set up by the Hemant Soren government and the agitating student bodies on Saturday remained inconclusive. With no concrete solution in sight from the government, the protesters have made it clear that their agitation will not end unless all their conditions are accepted. Meanwhile, Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha (JLKM) MLA Jairam Mahato has also announced to sit on a day-long fast on August 9 in support of the candidates. The 5-member committee of the Hemant Soren government, which includes state ministers, first held talks with a delegation led by JLKM leader Devendra Nath Mahato. Saturday was the seventh day of the hunger strike by Devendra Nath Mahato. The committee, followed by Congress-backed student organisation NSUI, ACS and the ruling party's student wing Jharkhand Chhatra Morcha (JCM), however, could not reach a conclusion despite two hours of separate talks with the state government on Friday night.