Patna: State chief secretary (CS) Amrit Lal Meena on Monday met a delegation of the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) aspirants and assured to look into their demands and take appropriate legitimate action.
Meena gave this assurance when an 11-member delegation of BPSC civil service aspirants joined by Purnea MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, met him in his office and submitted a memorandum, which sought cancellation of the preliminary test (PT) for the 70th combined competitive examination (CCE), high-level inquiry into irregularities in the conduct of PT and withdrawal of cases against the students.
Also Read: Police shower lathis, use cannon on BPSC civil service aspirants, yet again
Students’ demand also included action against the police officials for excessive use of force on the agitating aspirants and appropriate compensation to the family of Sonu Kumar, a BPSC aspirant, who committed suicide. BPSC civil service aspirants have been on dharna since December 18 in protest against alleged irregularities in conduct of the PT held on December 13.
The delegation also submitted the proof of irregularities at several other exam centres during the PT, other than Bapu Examination Centre in Patna. CS Meena gave a patient hearing to the delegation’s arguments and assured to take appropriate corrective action.
Chakka jam to protest police lathi-charge on students
Students wings of the left parties enforced chakka-jam in different parts of the state in support of the BPSC aspirants’ demand and against brutal lathi-charge on them in Patna on Sunday.
Also Read: BPSC aspirants refuse to call-off stir, stay firm on meeting CM
Activists of All India Students Association (AISA) blocked the Delhi-bound Bihar Sampark Kranti in Darbhanga as part of their Chakka jam agitation. A group of protesters stopped the Buxar-Patna passenger train in Ara. The protesters say that the government is doing injustice to the students. On the other hand, the Ara-Patna main road was also blocked near the Sardar Patel bus stand in Ara.
BPSC chairman meets Guv, clarifies his stand on CCE
BPSC chairman Parmar Ravi Manubhai called on governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar on Monday and clarified the commission’s stand on declining the civil service aspirants’ demand for cancelling PT held at all 912 examination centres. Although Manubhai refused to talk to the media on returning from the Raj Bhawan, it’s said that the governor had taken serious exception to the brutal lathi-charge on the students on Sunday. The chairman is said to have expressed his inability to hold the re-exam for all the students, claiming that the PT was held in fair manner at the rest of centres. He also said that the commission was not in a position to conduct the re-exam at all the centres.
Also Read: BPSC cancels PT for 70th CCE held at Bapu centre, re-test soon
Union minister Chirag Paswan supports BPSC aspirants
BPSC civil service aspirants drew support from Union minister Chirag Paswan and assured a positive outcome of their agitation in the near future via his post on X. “I have appealed to the Bihar government and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for immediate intervention, as a result of which the Chief Secretary (who is the highest official of the government) on behalf of the government has started the process of dialogue with the candidates and students. Soon the fruitful results of this initiative will be seen. This is the result of our government’s positive thinking and sensitivity towards the students,” he said on X.
Paswan further appealed to candidates to keep their issues and demands in a peaceful manner in front of the government. “I also appeal to the candidates to present their issues before the government in a peaceful and constructive manner and avoid getting influenced by any political persons,” his post said, while lashing out at the opposition parties for ‘misleading’ the students for their political gains.
Also Read: BPSC PT aspirants protest over alleged question paper leak
Tejashwi & Priyanka Gandhi condemns govt’s apathy
In a video statement, the former Bihar deputy chief minister and opposition leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav said, “It is very painful how BPSC aspirants were beaten up by the police. Many people are badly injured in this… We condemn this. The visuals that have surfaced are painful. I am a youth, and I can understand their situation. Firstly, people were protesting against normalisation…”
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also expressed her displeasure over the “inhumane” treatment of protestors. She said that the double-engine government of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has become a symbol of double “atrocities” on youth.
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Prashant Kishor refutes charges of leaving students in lurch
Refuting the allegations that he left the BPSC aspirants to fend for themselves near JP roundabout only to be beaten up mercilessly, Jan Suraj Party (JSP) founder Prashant Kishor claimed that he left the march only after it was decided that the students’ delegation would meet the chief secretary. “I was not leading the students. I decided to leave the site after asking the students to disperse when an agreement to meet the chief secretary in delegation was reached. The police lathi-charge happened 45 minutes after my departure,” claimed Kishor.
Kishor, also a political strategist, however, condemned the police action and announced plans to file an FIR against Patna Police, take the matter to court, and approach the Human Rights Commission. He also announced to re-join the protest if no resolution is reached after the delegation’s meeting with the chief secretary.
Also Read: BPSC to appoint 11,334 headmasters in Bihar’s govt schools
Purnea MP meets governor on BPSC row
Purnea MP Pappu Yadav on Monday met state governor Rajendra V Arlekar and submitted a memorandum in support of the BPSC civil service aspirants. He said that the governor had assured to talk to the BPSC chairman and the chief minister in this regard. “The governor also wondered why the Patna police applied excessive force in dealing with the agitating students,” said Yadav.
Later, Yadav accompanied the students’ delegation while meeting with chief secretary Amrit Lal Meena in his official chamber and sought his intervention to resolve imbroglio.
