A day after the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) aspirants was lathichrged and faced water cannons on a freezing winter evening in Patna, a delegation of students met Bihar Chief Secretary Amritlal Meena to put forth their demands. The state home secretary was also present in the meeting. According to the students, the Chief Secretary assured the delegation that their concerns would be considered.
One of the students said,"We had five demands, including re-examination, withdrawal of FIRs against the protesting students, a Rs 10 lakh compensation and a government job for the family of a BPSC aspirant Sonu who died by suicide".
"The chief secretary listened to our grievances, and assured that they will look into the allegations from all angles and appropriate action will be taken," he added.
Meanwhile, Prashant Kishor, the founder of Jan Suraj, has given a 48-hour ultimatum to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. He said that if no action is taken within two days, further steps would be pursued, including approaching the court. In solidarity with the BPSC aspirants' movement, several places in Bihar, including Patna, Darbhanga, Arwal, and Ara, saw road blockades (chakka jams) today. The All India Students Association (AISA) organized the blockade, with support from the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (CPI-ML).
The Governor of Bihar summoned BPSC Chairman Ravi Manu Bhai Parmar to discuss the matter. MP Pappu Yadav also met the governor to address the issue. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav announced that he would request an appointment with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to discuss the resolution of the BPSC candidates' concerns.
Earlier on Sunday, the student protests turned violent. The police used batons to disperse students at JP Golambar and used water cannons against them. Prashant Kishor, who had joined the students in their march, had left the scene before the police action. In response to the protest, the police filed an FIR against 21 named individuals, including Kishor, and about 700 unidentified people.
The ongoing protests, which have continued for over the last 10 days, stem from allegations of a paper leak at the Bapu Pariksha Parisar exam centre in Patna. While the BPSC has announced a re-test at that centre, it has maintained that the irregularities were isolated and do not warrant the cancellation of the entire exam.
