Patna : Hundreds of students and jobseekers in Patna broke through police barricades and marched towards Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary’s residence on Tuesday. The protesters are demanding the cancellation of the 70th BPSC examination and raising concerns over alleged paper leaks, examination irregularities and employment-related issues.
Police personnel deployed to contain the marchers attempted to stop them, leading to a face-off between the two sides. Police resorted to lathicharge at multiple points and used water cannons to disperse the protesters. Despite the action, the students continued their march and moved closer to the Chief Minister’s residence. The march began around 10 am from Gandhi Maidan, with students raising slogans as they headed towards the Chief Minister’s residence.
The protest came a day after student representatives held talks with the Bihar government. Although the discussions 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.
He said the protesters had been asked to form a delegation for talks, but they made it clear that they would 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 protests, the Bihar government on Tuesday announced the launch of a monthly ‘Vidyarthi Sahyog Shivir’ (Student Support Camp) to address student grievances.
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