Patna:
Jan Swaraj Party founder Prashant Kishor’s fast unto death at Gandhi Maidan continued on Friday, demanding cancellation of the 70th Combined (Preliminary) Competitive Examination (CCE) held by Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) on December 13. At the same time, supporters of independent MP Pappu Yadav disrupted rail traffic and leftist student organizations surrounded the Chief Minister’s residence.
Protests have been going on in Patna’s Gardanibagh for the last two weeks demanding cancellation of BPSC 70th Combined (Preliminary) Competitive Examination held on December 13 due to alleged paper leak.
Rail and road traffic disrupted in many districts
Meanwhile, less than 24 hours are left for the fresh examination to be conducted for more than 10,000 candidates who appeared in the examination at Bapu Examination Center of the Commission. In such a situation, independent MP Pappu Yadav along with his supporters from Patna Rail and road traffic was blocked in many parts of the state including Araria, Purnia, Muzaffarpur etc.
Police said that Yadav’s supporters launched a Rail Roko campaign at Patna’s Sachivalaya Halt railway station demanding cancellation of the recently held BPSC examination. They gathered at the Secretariat Halt railway station and sat on the tracks for some time, causing delay in train movement, an official said. Yadav’s supporters burnt tires on the roads in Purnia and Patna and also disrupted traffic.
Saraswati Chandra, Chief Public Relations Officer of East Central Railway, told ‘PTI-Bhasha’, ‘At around 9 am on Friday, the protesters stopped the Buxar-Fatuha passenger train at the Secretariat Halt station. The train stopped for 20 minutes and then left the station.
Talking to journalists on this occasion, Yadav said that he tried to find a solution to the students’ issue at every level from the Governor to the state, but the government is not ready to listen. Now he will approach the Supreme Court regarding this.
Prashant Kishore Natwar is Lal: Pappu Yadav
The Jan Suraj Party founder continued his fast unto death, which he started a day earlier, at Gandhi Maidan in Patna city on Friday, while Yadav compared him with famous thug ‘Natwar Lal’. When asked about Kishore’s fast unto death, Yadav said, ‘He is ‘Natwar Lal’. Who sits on a fast unto death in the evening after having lunch? Please, don’t talk about them.
Yadav along with his supporters also took out a march from Secretariat Halt railway station to JP Golambar, where the police stopped them from moving forward.
Talking to journalists, Yadav said, ‘We know that the government will not listen to us immediately. After all, question papers are leaked with the connivance of the high and powerful. But we should take inspiration from the recent farmers’ movement and be prepared for a long fight.
Prashant Kishore gave 48 hours ultimatum to the government
Kishor, who is on a fast unto death since Thursday at Gandhi Maidan in Patna demanding cancellation of BPSC exams, told journalists that his fast will continue until the government considers the demands of the students. Three days ago, Kishor had given a ’48-hour ultimatum’ to the Nitish Kumar government to take action on the demands of the angry candidates.
However, the Patna district administration had filed an FIR on Thursday against the founder of Jan Suraj and his supporters, terming Kishore’s fast unto death at Gandhi Maidan as against the rules.
When asked about the administration declaring his fast illegal, Kishor said on Friday, ‘Under which law can we not sit here? This is a public place and many programs including gardening fair are being organized here. Hundreds of people come here for a walk every day. We are not damaging any public property. The public is not facing any problem due to our fast.
On Friday, AISA, the student wing of CPI(ML) Liberation along with like-minded organizations had announced a demonstration in front of the Chief Minister’s residence regarding the BPSC issue.
When leftist student organizations were stopped from marching towards the Chief Minister’s residence on Friday, they clashed with the police.
The state unit of Youth Congress also announced to take out a ‘torch procession’ to the mausoleum of the first President Rajendra Prasad, located one kilometer away from Sadakat Ashram, the state headquarters of the party in Patna.
After hundreds of candidates boycotted the examination held at the Bapu Examination Center in the state capital Patna alleging that the question paper of a combined competitive examination conducted by BPSC on December 13 was leaked, the Commission ordered re-examination for more than 10,000 candidates. Had given. These candidates have been asked to appear in the examination to be conducted afresh on January 4 at various centers in the city.
However, the Commission also believes that the examination was conducted properly at the remaining 911 centers in Bihar and no complaints were raised by more than five lakh candidates who appeared for the examination, but a section of the candidates To ensure ‘level playing field’, a movement has been started demanding re-examination to be ordered for all the centres.
The protesters also claimed that they had provided ‘evidence’ to the authorities that the malpractice was widespread and was not limited to Bapu examination centre, a claim rejected by the BPSC.
