Nishikant Dubey threatens hunger strike over Jharkhand exam paper leaks by Aug 13
Synopsis
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey has put a hard deadline — 13 August — on the Hemant Soren government to act on alleged JPSC and JSSC paper leaks, threatening to abandon Parliament and join a hunger strike if it does not. With students already camped at Ranchi's Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium and at Delhi's Jantar Mantar, a sitting parliamentarian's entry into the agitation could force a political reckoning the state government can no longer defer.
Key Takeaways
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey warned on 6 August that he will join a hunger strike if the Jharkhand government does not act on alleged exam irregularities by 13 August .
Students are protesting at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium, Ranchi and at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi , with several on hunger strike for nearly a fortnight.
Key demands include a CBI probe into alleged JPSC and JSSC irregularities, cancellation of affected exams, and systemic recruitment reforms.
BJP's Ravi Shankar Prasad urged Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi to allow Parliament to function so Home Minister Amit Shah can address the issue.
The Hemant Soren -led government has offered talks; students have for the first time named an official delegation for the proposed discussions.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) parliamentarian Nishikant Dubey on Thursday, 6 August warned that he would join the ongoing student agitation in Jharkhand and go on a hunger strike if the state government fails to act on alleged paper leaks and recruitment irregularities before 13 August — the deadline he has set while the Monsoon Session of Parliament remains in progress.
What Dubey Said
In a post on social media platform X, the four-time Godda Lok Sabha member said, 'By August 13, that is, until the Parliament session is ongoing, if no decision is made, then I will take permission from my party and join the students' movement to go on a hunger strike.' The statement signals a direct escalation by an elected representative, lending fresh political weight to what has been a prolonged grassroots agitation.
The Core Grievances
Students have been protesting at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium in Ranchi against alleged irregularities in examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC). Their key demands include a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the alleged irregularities, cancellation of affected examinations, action against those found responsible, and systemic reforms to ensure transparency in the recruitment process. Separately, students from Jharkhand have also been staging protests at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, with several on hunger strike for nearly a fortnight.
BJP Turns Up Political Heat
BJP Lok Sabha member Ravi Shankar Prasad on Thursday urged the Opposition — specifically Indian National Congress (Congress) president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi — to allow Parliament to function so that Home Minister Amit Shah could address the Houses on the issue, a demand raised by the protesting leaders themselves. Prasad also criticised Gandhi, calling him a 'hypocrite' and alleging that Gandhi adopted a different stance when it came to student protests over reported examination irregularities in Jharkhand.
State Government Response
The Hemant Soren-led Jharkhand government, backed by the Congress, has offered to hold discussions with the protesters. In a notable development, agitating students have for the first time formally announced an official delegation to represent them in the proposed talks — a sign that negotiations may be moving forward, even as Dubey's deadline looms.
What Happens Next
With the Monsoon Session of Parliament still underway and Dubey's self-imposed deadline of 13 August approaching, attention is squarely on whether the Soren administration will announce concrete decisions before then. The intervention of a sitting parliamentarian is likely to further intensify pressure on the state government, and students across Jharkhand have expressed hope that the BJP MP's stand will compel the administration to address long-pending grievances over examination integrity and fair recruitment.
Point of View
Any talks risk being a pressure-release valve rather than a genuine fix. The real accountability question — how paper leaks allegedly recurred across multiple examinations without institutional consequence — remains unanswered by both the state government and the Opposition leaders now claiming solidarity with students.
NationPress
7 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is BJP MP Nishikant Dubey threatening a hunger strike over Jharkhand exams?
Dubey has threatened to join a hunger strike if the Hemant Soren-led Jharkhand government does not take concrete action on alleged paper leaks and recruitment irregularities in JPSC and JSSC examinations by 13 August. He posted the warning on social media platform X while the Monsoon Session of Parliament was still in progress.
What are the Jharkhand student protesters demanding?
Students are demanding a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in JPSC and JSSC examinations, cancellation of affected exams, action against those responsible, and systemic reforms to ensure transparency in the recruitment process. Protests are ongoing at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium in Ranchi and at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.
What is the Hemant Soren government's response to the agitation?
The Jharkhand government has offered to hold discussions with the protesting students. In response, the agitating students have for the first time formally named an official delegation to represent them in the proposed talks, though no concrete decisions had been announced as of 6 August.
Who is Nishikant Dubey and why does his intervention matter?
Nishikant Dubey is a four-time Lok Sabha MP from the Godda constituency in Jharkhand, representing the BJP. His entry into the agitation gives the student movement direct parliamentary representation and increases political pressure on the state government, particularly with the Monsoon Session of Parliament still under way.
What role has the BJP played in the Jharkhand exam controversy?
Beyond Dubey's hunger strike threat, BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad has urged Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi to allow Parliament to function so Home Minister Amit Shah can address the issue — a demand also raised by the protesting students themselves. The BJP has framed the controversy as a failure of the Congress-backed Soren administration.
