BPSC Protest In Patna: Police Lathi Charge Aspirants Marching To CM House, Prashant Kishor Urges Dialogue

BPSC aspirants in Patna attempted to march towards CM Nitish Kumar's residence, resulting in a police response with lathis and water cannons.

BPSC Protest In Patna A protest by Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) aspirants turned chaotic on Sunday at Gandhi Maidan, Patna, as police lathi-charged protestors led by Jan Suraaj chief Prashant Kishor as they planned to hold a march despite the district administration’s denial of permission. The aspirants, demanding a resolution of grievances, had gathered near the Gandhi statue early in the day. By evening, the situation escalated as students marched towards Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's residence via JP Golambar, breaking barricades and blocking traffic.

Police used lathis and water cannons to disperse the crowd, injuring several students. An FIR was registered in Gandhi Maidan police station against 600-700 people including Prashant Kishor on charges of unauthorised gathering of crowd, instigating people and creating law and order problems.

An injured student wept on camera as he remarked, "These officers, who pass exams like us, are beating us. We never thought this would happen. We never imagined the administration would take such steps."

The district administration had issued a notice on Saturday prohibiting the protest. However, thousands of aspirants, under Prashant Kishor's leadership, assembled at Gandhi Maidan for ‘Chatra Sansad’. A march towards the Chief Minister's residence was planned to begin around 5 PM, prompting heavy police deployment. The authorities feared that if the protest reached Dak Bungalow Chowk, it would create severe traffic disruptions.  

"Jan Suraaj Party was denied permission to organise Chhatra Sansad in front of the Gandhi statue. However, a crowd gathered at the Gandhi statue and created law and order problem. A scuffle broke out between the crowd and Police. The crowd broke the loudspeakers installed by the administration. Despite repeated requests, these people violated the guidelines of the administration and disrupted public order. Therefore, the administration removed them by using water cannons and force. An FIR has been registered in Gandhi Maidan police station against 600-700 people including Jan Suraaj Chief Prashant Kishor on charges of unauthorized gathering of crowd, instigating people and creating law and order problems," Patna Administration stated, as quoted by news agency ANI.

BPSC Protest: Prashant Kishor Urges Students To Hold Talks With Bihar Administration

Earlier, Prashant Kishor had sought permission through a letter to hold a peaceful ‘Chatra Sansad’ (students' congregation), which was denied.

Addressing the media after the lathicharge, Prashant Kishor said, "Administrative officials present here have assured us that the government is ready to discuss the students’ demands. A five-member student committee will meet the Chief Secretary to find a resolution. If the outcome is unsatisfactory, students will collectively decide the next steps tomorrow morning. I urge them not to take any unlawful actions..."

"I stand with the students. My aim is to resolve students' concerns and not to have them agitate and get them beaten up. I have been urging the government to meet students. If they had done so, the situation would not have come to this...If any injustice occurs with students, we will stand with them with full strength," the Jan Suraaj founder added.

He urged students to hold a dialogue with the Bihar administration.

Meanwhile, RJD leader and former Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav condemned the use of force on aspirants. He said, "I am extremely pained with the way the police used water cannons and restored to lathi-charge to disperse BPSC aspirants. I condemn this. It was really disheartening. I want to tell the aspirants that Tejashwi Yadav is with them, and he can understand their pain."

The protests come as the BPSC announced that the 70th Integrated Combined (Preliminary) Competitive Examination (CCE) 2024 held on December 13 across the state would not be cancelled following allegations of question paper leak.

Speaking to reporters, 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."

A group of aspirants have been staging a dharna at Gardani Bagh to demand cancellation of the entire exam of the BPSC held on December 13 across the state. The protesters argue that cancellation should be ordered across the board since re-examination for just one centre is against the principle of level playing field.