Patna: Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) civil service aspirants, who have been agitating since December 18 in support of their demand for re-examination of the preliminary test (PT) of 70th Combined Competitive Examination (CCE), were lathicharged and faced streams of water cannons on Sunday evening.
Lathi-wielding personnel of Patna police resorted to blowing lathis and using water cannons when they, on the call of Jan Suraj Party founder Prashant Kishor, attempted to jump the police barrier near JP roundabout and march towards the CM residence. Earlier, the youths, aspiring for the state civil services had gathered at Gandhi Maidan as part of ‘Chhatra Sansad’ and proceeded to march to lodge their protest against the adamant approach of BPSC.
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Kishor accused of leaving students in lurch
While Kishor sat on dharna near the JP statue and later returned to Gandhi Maidan after being stopped by the police, some of the students clashed with the police while trying to cross the barrier. The police had to resort to lathi-charge and use water cannons to disperse the crowd. A section of the students accused Kishor of leaving them to fend for themselves when the police personnel began thrashing them.
Why students are agitating?
Hundreds of candidates who had appeared for the BPSC prelims conducted on December 13 at 912 centres across Bihar have been protesting in Patna since December 18, calling for the cancellation of the exam, alleging that CCTV cameras and jammers had not been functional at several examination centres and that question papers had been distributed late at some locations. The BPSC has so far agreed to reschedule the exam only for those who took it at one centre in Patna, where an exam official died of heart attack amid ruckus.
Also Read: BPSC cancels PT for 70th CCE held at Bapu centre, re-test soon
The BPSC aspirants were also demanding a meeting with the chief minister to discuss the issue. The All India Students’ Association (AISA) called for a ‘chakka jam’ on Monday in protest against the use of force by the police on students.
Students divided over PK’s plan
Earlier, Kishor joined the protest and expressed his full support for the students. He participated in their march to JP Golambar, where he announced that a five-member student delegation would meet the chief secretary to present their demands. Kishor stated that if no concrete decision was reached, the students would resume protesting the following day.
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Also Read: BPSC PT aspirants protest over alleged question paper leak
The students were divided over Kishor’s proposal for meeting chief secretary Amrit Lal Meena, which the authorities had assured to arrange, and sought to cross over the barricade to meet the CM, prompting the police to use force to disperse the crowd.
BPSC no to re-exam
BPSC examination controller Rajesh Kumar Singh had on Friday reiterated the commission’s stance, stating that the 70th CCE exam would not be canceled under any circumstances. He confirmed that the main examination would proceed as scheduled in April and advised candidates to focus on their preparations instead of protesting.
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2nd lathi-charge on BPSC aspirants
Earlier the week, Patna police personnel had resorted to lathi charge when the agitating students tried to enter the BPSC office premises. While the BPSC has acknowledged the irregularities at the Patna center, it asserts that the exam was successfully conducted at over 900 other centers across the state without any issues.
Prashant Kishore claims he was not leading students
A couple of days ago, political strategist and JSP founder Prashat Kishor had met the agitating civil service aspirants at Gardanibagh dharna site and categorically stated that the campaign for justice would be led by the students. “I am not going to lead them. I will be standing with the students, who have launched the agitation,” Kishor had told the media.
Accusing the Bihar government of turning democracy into “lathi-tantra,” Kishore emphasised the right to protest of the students in public spaces. Earlier in the day, he had said that the students were not going to Gandhi Maidan for a protest. “Students are sitting there, we are going to meet them. Gandhi Maidan is a public place, people go there every day. If the students do not have any place, they will go to a public place. I don’t know why the government has made it a question of its prestige, somewhere they are harming themselves,” Kishor had said.
Tejashwi slammed govt for using force on protesters
Former Bihar deputy CM and leader of the opposition in assembly Tejashwi Yadav charged at CM Nitish Kumar with playing with the future of youths and suggested that the government was only with the corrupt people. The RJD leader said, “There is no government here…The CM is silent on all the issues…When our government was there, the youths were happy. Today there are only marks on their body (under Nitish Kumar’s government).”
He added, “The CM is lost somewhere. It seems that he has become history and there is no CM in the state…,” Yadav said.
