The protests, which have been ongoing for over ten days, are based on a paper leak at the Bapu Pariksha Parisar exam centre.
The protest by Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) aspirants demanding a re-test of the 70th Combined Competitive Examination (CCE) intensified today in Patna, forcing the police to resort to lathi charges and use water cannons.
Earlier in the day, thousands of students had congregated at Gandhi Maidan and began to march toward JP Golambar before deciding to march toward the Chief Minister’s residence. The police hadn’t approved of this plan. They, too, demanded a meeting with the chief minister on the issue. The All India Students’ Association (AISA) has called for a ‘chakka jam’ on Monday to protest against the use of force by the police on students.
Jan Suraj founder Prashant Kishor joined the protest and said he was with the students. He joined their march to JP Golambar and announced that a five-member student delegation would meet the Chief Secretary to present their demands.
Kishor said that if there is no concrete decision the next day, students will protest again. But they refused to go to the Chief Secretary for the meeting. The police were forced to disperse them. Meanwhile, Kishor returned to Gandhi Maidan while the students remained at the protest site.
He had earlier claimed to have organized a “Chhatra Sansad” at Gandhi Maidan on Saturday on the Gandhi Jayanti eve, to place demands and strategize future courses of action; however, city administration banned the event.
The protests, which had been going on for more than 10 days, erupted due to allegations of paper leakage at one of the Bapu Pariksha Parisar exam centres. While BPSC conducted a re-examination at that centre, the commission maintained that the irregularities were isolated and did not justify cancelling the entire exam.
