The Jharkhand government will hold a sixth round of talks with students protesting the alleged exam irregularities in the state before reaching a final decision, said a member of the panel tasked with holding dialogue with the demonstrators.

The talks will be held around 12 pm, the member said after the panel held a four-hour meeting with Chief Minister Hemant Soren, appraising him about the progress achieved during the previous five rounds of dialogue with the protesters.

“We apprised the chief minister of students’ views and demands that came to the fore during various rounds of meetings with delegations of student unions today and the day before.

“It was decided in the meeting with the chief minister that a final round of talks with protesting students will take place at 12 pm on Sunday,” the panel’s member and Rural Development Minister Dipika Pandey Singh told PTI.

Another member, Minister Sanjay Prasad Yadav, said the meeting at the chief minister’s residence decided to hold further talks with the agitators demanding comprehensive reform in the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC).

At the heart of the protest is the demand for an independent probe into the alleged irregularities, either by the CBI or a panel of retired high court judges from outside the state..

The Jharkhand government has held four rounds of talks with various agitating outfits since Friday night, but failed to break the deadlock as the protesting job aspirants decided that their stir would continue until all their demands are met.

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