The Jharkhand government marked the first anniversary of its second term with a large public ceremony at Morabadi Ground, where Chief Minister Hemant Soren handed appointment letters to 8,792 newly selected candidates. The event was presented as a sign of the administration’s focus on job creation, even as the opposition described it as an exercise in self-congratulation.
Speaking to the gathering, the Chief Minister said the past year had been dedicated to expanding employment opportunities and strengthening welfare programmes. He said more than 16,000 young people had secured government jobs this year and around 8,000 others had found work in the private sector. He urged the new recruits to guide at least one young person wherever they are posted and said that collective effort would help reshape the state.
The Chief Minister said the day carried mixed emotions because Shibu Soren was not present at the ceremony. He described him as a mentor for the state. He also paid tribute to Jyotiba Phule on his death anniversary. He said the government’s schemes were beginning to show visible results and cited the Mukhyamantri Mayinya Samman Yojana as an example of how women were becoming financially independent. According to him, women now account for 40 percent of assistant professor appointments and 30 percent of selections in the JPSC civil services.
A detailed list of appointments was released at the event. The new recruits include 197 deputy collectors, 35 deputy superintendents of police, 55 state tax officers, two jail superintendents, eight education service officers, one district sports officer, eight assistant registrars, 14 labour superintendents, six probation officers and three excise inspectors from the 11th to 13th Combined Civil Services Examination. The government also handed 8,291 appointment letters to assistant professors. Family members of 84 police personnel who died on duty received jobs on compassionate grounds.
The opposition questioned the government’s claims. BJP MP and state working president Aditya Sahu said the administration had spent large sums on publicity while distributing appointment letters for posts created during the previous government. He said many vacancies belonged to recruitment drives initiated under the Raghubar Das government. According to him, the current government had scrapped more than two lakh sanctioned posts soon after returning to power. He said that instead of appointment letters the administration should be issuing notices of abolished posts.
Sahu said the handling of the JSSC CGL examinations had damaged public trust and that the government had failed to release the promised recruitment calendar. He also said unemployment benefits had not been addressed. He described the event as an attempt to divert attention from the concerns of job seekers.
The contrasting positions turned the anniversary event into a political contest, with the government highlighting its achievements and the opposition challenging its record on employment and governance.