New Delhi: Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) aspirants continue to protest demanding the scrapping of the December 13 prelims exam. The aspirants on Sunday gathered at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan to again demand the cancellation of the 70th Preliminary Examination and a re-examination for all candidates across Bihar. The protesters sat under Mahatma Gandhi’s statue, raising their concerns over alleged irregularities during exam.
Jan Suraj founder Prashant Kishore also joined the protesters to express solidarity. He criticised the Bihar government’s handling of the situation. Addressing the media, Kishore accused the government of turning democracy into a “lathi-tantra” (rule of the baton). He emphasised the students’ constitutional right to protest in public spaces, saying, “Gandhi Maidan is a public place where people go every day. If students have no other venue, they will naturally gather in such areas. The government is unnecessarily making this a matter of prestige.”
Students have remained adamant
The students have remained adamant, demanding a re-examination of the preliminary test for all candidates rather than limiting the cancellation to a single exam centre.
The controversy began on December 13, after allegations of malpractice came to fore at Patna’s Bapu Sabhagar examination centre. The aspirants boycotted the test at the centre and protested, after which, the examination at the specific centre was cancelled, and it was announced that a re-examination would be held on January 4. However, aspirants have demanded that the entire exam be scrapped and conducted afresh to ensure fairness.
Kishore reiterated the importance of upholding democratic values in Bihar, often referred to as the “cradle of democracy”. He stated, “If students here cannot voice their concerns, then we are moving away from democracy. That is why we stand with them.”
Meanwhile, protests have not been limited to Patna. In Delhi, members of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) were detained while demonstrating outside Bihar Bhawan, condemning the police action against BPSC aspirants in Patna.
