Extending support: Popular educator and YouTuber Faizal Khan, aka Khan Sir, speaking to protesting aspirants in Patna on Friday.
| Photo Credit: PTI
The ongoing protests by civil service aspirants in Patna over the alleged paper leak of the 70th Integrated Combined Competitive Examination conducted by the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) gained momentum on Friday with founder of Jan Suraaj Party Prashant Kishor and popular online educators extending their support.
The protesters, who have been holding a sit-in at Gardanibagh for several days, are demanding a re-exam of the test conducted on December 13 at 912 centres across the State.
However, on Friday, the commission ruled out retests, citing “no genuine basis” for the charges. The BPSC has only agreed to conduct a retest on January 4, 2025, at a centre in Patna’s Gyan Bhawan, where some students alleged that they did not receive question papers due to a short supply.
Prashant Kishor, who visited the protest site on Thursday, had issued a three-day ultimatum to the Nitish Kumar government to resolve the issues related to the BPSC exam. He extended support to the protesters and said he would be “at the forefront” of the agitation.
On Friday, Mr. Kishor said: “In Bihar, lok tantra (democracy) has transformed into lathi (baton) tantra over the last one to two years. The government should meet the protesting students or their representatives and consider their demand for re-exam.”
Popular educator and YouTuber Faizal Khan, aka Faizal Khan, and Patna-based popular vlogger Motiur Rahman Khan, aka Guru Rahman, also visited the protest site on Friday and expressed their support for the aspirants. However, some protesters objected to their presence, alleging that they had come to “hijack” the agitation.
Tutor arrested
The protests had turned violent on Wednesday when the police baton-charged the aspirants, injuring some of them. A Delhi-based tutor, Rohit Kumar, was arrested on Thursday on charges of “instigating” the protesters. Patna District Magistrate Chandrasekhar Singh said preliminary investigations found that the tutor had “mobilised and instigated” the aspirants.
“Rohit seems to be the mastermind of Wednesday’s protest by BPSC aspirants. Patna Police will send a preliminary report to the Economic Offences Unit to investigate their source of funding,” Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Rajeev Mishra said.
Meanwhile, the Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress have condemned the police action. “Nitish Kumar calls himself a disciple of socialist icon Jayaprakash Narayan but hates democratic protests,” said RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav.
Purnea MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav also voiced his support for the agitating aspirants and said he would call a Bihar bandh on January 1, 2025 if the December 13 examination is not cancelled.
Published – December 28, 2024 12:04 am IST