"I cannot give up. I am the eldest child in my family, and my father is no longer alive. My mother is often unwell. I will keep trying until I get a job. And with folded hands, I appeal to Hemant Soren not to let the future of Jharkhand's youth be destroyed," said Riya Tulika Pingua, a Ranchi-based activist who has been regularly participating in the ongoing agitation by students against irregularities in examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC).
Pingua, a JPSC aspirant who appeared in this year's examination and the backlog examination, said the cut-offs had still not been released. Speaking to The Quint in the wee hours at the Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium amid a heavy downpour, she said the irregularities in the examinations affected the most underprivileged students.
"This is deeply unfair to young people, especially Adivasi students, because we don't even know who is taking away our seats," she said.
"Ever since I enrolled in college, it has been my and my family's dream that I become a (government) officer. That's why I started preparing for the UPSC and JPSC. We couldn't even afford coaching classes, but somehow we paid the fees. Now, when my parents ask me why I am still unemployed, I have no answer," she said.