BPSC protest: Students break barricades, clash with police during march to Bihar CM's residence
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "BPSC protest: Students break barricades, clash with police during march to Bihar CM's residence")
BPSC protest: Students break barricades, clash with police during march to Bihar CM's residence Photograph: (ANI)
BPSC aspirants clashed with police in Patna during a march to CM Samrat Choudhary’s residence, demanding action over 70th BPSC exam concerns
Hundreds of students and BPSC aspirants broke through police barricades in Patna on Tuesday (August 25) and marched towards Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary’s residence, leading to clashes with security personnel. The protesters are demanding, among other things, the cancellation of the 70th Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) examination over alleged irregularities. The confrontation began after protesters breached barricades placed along the route to stop them from moving towards the Chief Minister’s residence. Police personnel deployed at the site attempted to contain the crowd, resulting in a face-off between the protesters and security forces.
Police used lathicharge at several points and deployed water cannons to disperse the demonstrators. However, the protesters continued their march and moved closer to the CM's residence. Several agitators were detained as police attempted to clear the area. The march started at around 10 am from Gandhi Maidan, where students raised slogans while proceeding towards the Chief Minister’s residence. Although barricades had been installed along the route, protesters removed them as they advanced.
The situation intensified after a farmers’ group protesting over land-related issues joined the agitation in Patna. Carrying black flags, the farmers joined the student protesters, following which the CRPF was deployed at the protest site. The students have been protesting in Patna’s Gardanibagh area for several weeks. Their key demands include holding a single-tier examination for BPSC-TRE 4, greater transparency in the recruitment process, recruitment examinations by the Bihar Staff Selection Commission (BSSC), and fair opportunities for Hindi-medium candidates.
The latest protest came a day after student representatives held discussions with the Bihar government. While the talks were described as positive, the protesters decided to continue their agitation and announced plans to march from Gandhi Maidan to the Chief Minister’s residence. Student leader Saurav Kumar said the talks with the government had been ‘positive’, but maintained that the protesters would continue their agitation over their demands, including the conduct of a single examination.
"We want to meet Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary because the government keeps making us hold talks with junior officials, after which the matter is closed. If we are given an opportunity for talks with the Chief Minister and an official notice is issued, we are ready to end our protest," a student leader said during Tuesday's protest.
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The student leader said the protesters had been asked to nominate a delegation for further discussions. However, they made it clear that they wanted to meet only the chief minister or, alternatively, the education minister. "Our first demand is that we should be allowed to meet Samrat Choudhary. The second option is that we should be allowed to meet the Education Minister. We will not meet anyone else," he said.
Amid the continuing agitation, the Bihar government announced on Tuesday the launch of a monthly 'Vidyarthi Sahyog Shivir' (Student Support Camp) aimed at addressing student grievances. CM Samrat Choudhary said the camps would be organised at educational institutions on the fourth Tuesday of every month, giving students an opportunity to directly raise their concerns with the officials concerned.
"The Bihar government is launching Vidyarthi Sahyog Shivir starting today to ensure prompt resolution of students’ grievances," Choudhary said in a social media post. He further said students would be able to register complaints online and track their status through a dedicated portal and helpline number 1100. The government’s new outreach initiative comes amid sustained protests across Bihar over examination and recruitment-related grievances. Despite the government’s latest effort to address student concerns, protesters continue to demand action on issues surrounding the 70th BPSC examination.
