Kolkata, Aug. 18 -- West Bengal Minister Dilip Ghosh on Tuesday criticised the Jharkhand government over its delayed decision to cancel the JSSC-CGL examination, alleging that authorities ignored students' demands until protests escalated and led to a lathi-charge.

Speaking to reporters here, Ghosh asked why the Hemant Soren government took "so long" to act.

"Why did the Jharkhand government take so long to make a decision? As soon as the agitation started in Delhi, the government immediately initiated talks. The students there (in Jharkhand) were making demands that the government wasn't even willing to consider. They had to resort to lathi-charging the children, but why did it come to that? If anyone toys with the future of these chil...