BPSC Protest: A large gathering is slated to take place at Gandhi Vihar’s E Block on Monday involving students from Bihar who demanded that the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) conduct a re-examination for the recently held 70th BPSC Preliminary Test. Over 400 students are expected to participate in the protest, which is scheduled to take place at 4 PM. The students also voiced strong opposition to the lathi charge on aspirants during a protest march towards the Chief Minister’s residence in Patna yesterday.
BPSC Secretary On Aspitants’ Allegations, Lathicharge During Protest
The protest comes after BPSC Secretary Satya Prakash Sharma clarified that the commission has no plans to conduct a re-examination under any circumstances. Speaking to ABP News on Monday, Sharma stated, “No delegation of candidates has approached us with their concerns. If someone comes, we are open to discussing the matter.”
Addressing allegations of irregularities, Satya Prakash Sharma dismissed the need for normalisation in the results. “The mechanism for scaling can be applied to determine the results. This method has been used before,” he said, adding that no credible evidence of malpractice, such as paper leaks, had been reported.
The BPSC exam was conducted on 13 December, and according to Satya Prakash Sharma, the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) had already issued an advisory for reporting any irregularities. “Despite the advisory, no district reported any irregularities or paper leaks to BPSC,” he clarified.
Responding to claims about question paper leaks in Gaya, the BPSC Secretary noted that an investigation is ongoing. He assured that students at centres where papers were delayed were given additional time. “BPSC does not set question papers directly or issue instructions for their difficulty level. Scaling will address concerns if the paper is deemed too easy or too difficult,” he said.
On demands for a probe into the preliminary exam, Sharma remarked, “The commission is open to investigations if irregularities are reported by the administration. However, BPSC lacks the resources to monitor all districts individually.”
Regarding the recent lathi charge on protesting students in Bihar, Sharma clarified that the commission had no role in the incident. He expressed surprise over “imaginary allegations” raised by candidates and urged sincere students to focus on meaningful issues.
ALSO READ | BPSC Protest: Oppn Lashes Out At Nitish Govt Over Lathi Charge, Prashant Kishor To Move Court
BPSC Protest: AAP, Congress Slam BJP Over Lathicharge On Aspirants
The lathicharge on aspirants in Patna during their march to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s residence has drawn condemnation from the Opposition parties.
AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal accused the BJP of “suppressing every voice of protest”.
“BJP governments want to suppress every voice of protest with the help of lathis. Lathicharge on peacefully protesting students is a direct attack against democracy. Students are the future of the country, listen to their voice instead of suppressing it. Lathi charge on the protesters shows the weakness and insensitivity of those in power. The country will never forgive such injustice to the youth. We stand with all these students,” he posted on X.
Meanwhile, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge raised serious allegations accusing the BJP of “spreading a web of paper leak mafia across the country”.
BPSC अभ्यर्थियों पर बिहार की NDA सरकार द्वारा बर्बरता पूर्वक लाठीचार्ज व अमानवीय अत्याचार पेपर लीक और धांधली को छिपाने के लिए किया गया है।
युवाओं पर तानाशाही का डंडा चलाकर उनके मनोबल को तोड़ने का प्रयास बेहद शर्मनाक व निंदनीय है।
भाजपा वालों ने पूरे देश में पेपर लीक माफिया का… pic.twitter.com/2RyQ6bnuLn
— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) December 30, 2024
“The brutal lathicharge and inhuman atrocities on BPSC candidates have been done by the NDA government of Bihar to hide paper leak and rigging. The attempt to break the morale of the youth by using dictatorship against them is extremely shameful and condemnable. The BJP has spread a web of paper leak mafia across the country, which is ruining the future of the youth. More than 70 papers have been leaked in the last 7 years. The future of 3.28 lakh youth in the BPSC exam is hanging in the balance. When rigging is detected the BJP shamelessly denies or tries to silence the youth by lathi-charging them,” he alleged.
Notably, an FIR was registered in Patna’s Gandhi Maidan police station against 600-700 people including Jan Suraj chief Prashant Kishor who led the students’ march on charges of unauthorised gathering of crowd, instigating people and creating law and order problems.
(With Inputs By Nidhi Shree)
