Patna BPSC Protest Escalates: Students Clash With Police, Break Barricades; Demand Exam Cancellation

Patna: Students protesting against the 70th Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) examination broke through barricades while marching towards Raj Bhavan from Gandhi Maidan in Patna on Tuesday, demanding cancellation of the examination.

The protestors attempted to proceed towards the restricted area despite police barricading the route. The demonstration comes amid continuing concerns raised by students over the conduct of the 70th BPSC examination.

DSP Kamakhya Narayan Singh said police would stop the protesters if they attempted to move ahead, while expressing hope that the students would agree following the dialogue with senior officials.

Speaking to ANI, DSP said, "We will stop them; we won't let them proceed further. However, the dialogue has been positive, and we hope the students will agree. They have raised several issues with the senior officials, and the outcome has been positive. So, I expect the turnout to be lower and that they will agree. If they don't, we will stop them right here. We won't allow them to enter the restricted area."

Speaking at the protest site, Congress leader Sushil Kumar said the protesters were also seeking changes in the Teacher Recruitment Examination (TRE) 4.0 and action on issues related to the BPSC, Bihar Staff Selection Commission (BSSC), and Sub-Inspector recruitment.

"We want to state clearly that a single-stage examination must be implemented for TRE 4.0 at all costs, and negative marking should be abolished. There are numerous other issues as well, regarding the BPSC, BSSC, Sub-Inspector recruitment. The government has offered no assurances on any of these points. We have urged the Chief Minister to hold a dialogue; he should invite our delegation for talks. We have been on a hunger strike for nine days, yet no one is willing to listen to us. Just imagine, had the government engaged in dialogue, this situation would not have arisen. We are heading towards the Chief Minister's residence; the Chief Minister should hold talks, and our delegation will go there for the discussion," Kumar told ANI.

The students in Bihar are staging a protest and demanding the cancellation of the 70th BPSC examination over alleged irregularities and paper leaks. The agitation has also centred on the proposed Teacher Recruitment Examination - Fourth Phase (TRE-4) process, with the students objecting to the proposal of conducting the TRE-4 exams in two phases across the state while demanding the release of the official TRE-4 advertisement.

Meanwhile, Bihar Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav wrote a letter to Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary regarding the ongoing BPSC examination row, urging him not to ignore the protesters' demands and engage in constructive dialogue to find an immediate resolution of the matter.

In his letter, Yadav urged the state administration to conduct the TRE 4 as a single examination and immediately end the alleged discrimination faced by Hindi-speaking candidates in the BPSC Civil Services Main Examination and interview.

He further demanded complete transparency in all competitive exams, including Sub-Inspector, Constable, BSSC, and BPSC. He also demanded a high-level independent inquiry into past examinations and take strict action against recruitment mafias.

The RJD leader also urged the government to promptly announce time-bound exam schedules for all pending tests, including the BSSC Intermediate, CGL, ASO, BSO, Librarian, and Accountant recruitment drives.

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