Patna: Agitating aspirants of the 70th combined competitive examination (CCE) of Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) on Saturday (December 28) refused to budge from their stand on seeking re-conduct of the preliminary test after the 11th day of their dharna at Gardanibagh.
Efforts made by the district administration to break the ice refused to work, as the students categorically said that they would meet none other than chief minister Nitish Kumar. “Only he can give us the solution. And we are hopeful that the CM would find a logical way out to end the stir in the larger interest of the students,” said one of the students at dharna.
Also Read: BPSC cancels PT for 70th CCE held at Bapu centre, re-test soon
Earlier, Sadar SDM Gaurav Kumar met the agitating students and urged them to meet the BPSC secretary. The SDM sought to persuade the students to call off the stir and discuss the issue with the BPSC officer. But the students declined, and stated that they would meet on the CM.
Prashant Kishore joined the dharna
Jan Suraj Party founder Prashant Kishor, who stood solidly behind the restive students, met the students at Gardhanibag on Saturday and announced to hold a ‘chhatra sansad’ at Gandhi Maidan on Sunday to decide the next course of action. “This is not the matter confined to the BPSC aspirants, but the whole of youths, whose future have been eclipsed by the question paper leak,” said Kishor.
Also Read: BPSC PT aspirants protest over alleged question paper leak
Students and academicians are likely to attend the Gandhi Maidan event. Kishor said that the students would lead the agitation and his role would be restricted to giving them the strength to fight for their rights. “If the police tried to scare away the students, Jan Suraj Party will stand firmly with them,” said Kishor.
Tejashwi Prasad Yadav lambasted the govt
Opposition leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav had lambasted the state government for its reluctance to cancel the exam and conduct the re-test of the BPSC PT. “Why was the exam for only one centre (Babu Exam Centre) cancelled, even though complaints of irregularities and question paper leaks were reported from other centres as well,” wondered Yadav.
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Why dharna?
The students, who sat on an indefinite dharna in Gardanibagh in protest against ‘rampant irregularities in the conduct of CCE prelims and alleged paper leak, have been cancelling the preliminary test (PT), held all over the state on December 13 and the re-examination. Acknowledging a minor gaffe at the Patna based Bapu exam centre, the BPSC had cancelled the PT for the students appearing at the centre and scheduled the re-exam for the centre-specific aspirants on January 4.
BPSC rules out cancellation of PT
Despite mounting pressure amid ongoing protests over allegations of question paper leak, BPSC on Saturday (December 28) asserted that the 70th Integrated Combined (Preliminary) Competitive Examination (CCE) 2024 held on December 13 across the state will not be cancelled.
Also Read: CBI takes over NEET-UG question paper leak case from Bihar EOU
Clarifying the commission’s stand, BPSC examination controller Rajesh Kumar Singh said: “There is no question of cancelling the entire BPSC exam held on December 13. The BPSC decided to cancel the preliminary examination held at Bapu Pariksha Parisar centre only due to disruption created by a group of unruly aspirants as part of the conspiracy to disrupt the exam. The re-examination will be held on January 4 at some other centre in the city.”
Khan Sir participated in dharna to boost students’ morale
Noted tutor Khan Sir, who runs a coaching institute for students to prepare for competitive exams, threw his weight behind the protesters by joining the dharna at Gardanibagh on Friday. However, he had to make a hasty retreat from the spot when a section of the students started accusing him of hijacking the movement.
Earlier, teacher Khan Sir, who had come to meet the protesting BPSC candidates, had said, “’These children will become officers tomorrow. They will be your seniors, so think before using lathi on them. We are only demanding a re-examination from the commission. The commission can take as difficult a test as it wants. We are not running away from this, we are saying that take a difficult exam and do not give children’s questions. Our class test questions are more difficult than this.”
Also Read: Fearing question paper leak, NBEMS postpones NEET-PG exam
We will go to Supreme Court, write to President: Khan Sir
Khan Sir further said, “Why did the commission hide the evidence and CCTV footage? Many things have come out which are a matter of investigation. We will go to the Supreme Court, tell the President what is happening in Bihar. First the country’s GDP fell, then the bridge in Bihar collapsed and now BPSC has collapsed.”
Pappu Yadav calls for Bihar Bandh on January 1
Independent and Congress supported MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav has given a bandh call on January 1 in support of the student’s demand for re-exam of the BPSC PT. Leaders of the Congress party have also supported the students’ demand and urged the CM to sympathetically consider the conduct of re-exam. “Candidates have claimed that the question paper was leaked, and there were delays in distributing the papers. Several candidates also reported receiving the question paper nearly an hour late, while others claimed that answer sheets were torn, fuelling suspicions of a potential leak,” argued the Purnea MP, while demanding a High Court bench probe into the matter.
Also Read: Students allege CTET question paper leak, CBSE maintains silence
“We urge all opposition MPs and MLAs to join the protest. People should sit outside the residences of ruling party MPs and MLAs across Bihar. What is political about this? These students have been protesting for so many days, and their only demand is a re-examination,” said Pappu Yadav.
Guru Rahman appears before police
Another noted tutor for competitive exams Guru Rahman on Saturday visited the Gardanibagh police station and submitted the reply to the legal notice slapped on him for supporting the students’ cause. Guru Rahman has been asked to appear in the police station again on January 3. Till then, he has been told not to meet the BPSC aspirants at dharna site.
Also Read: Jharkhand HC stays release of JSSC-CGL merit list amid protests
The Patna police registered separate FIRs against unidentified with the Sachivalaya and Gardanibagh police stations against the BPSC agitators, teachers, coaching institutes owners, social media handlers on the charges of provocation, spreading rumours, making trouble for law and orders.
