BPSC exams protest: Students break through police barricades during march towards CM residence, police resort to water cannons
PTC News Desk: Hundreds of protesting students broke through police barricades in their bid to gherao Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary's residence on Tuesday, triggering clashes with police. The protesters are, among other things, demanding cancellation of the 70th Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) exam over alleged irregularities.
The situation turned tense after protesting students broke through police barricades placed along the route to stop them from moving forward. Police tried to control the protesters, leading to a confrontation between the two sides.
Police used lathicharge at several places and also deployed water cannons to disperse the protesters. However, the students continued their march and moved towards the Chief Minister’s residence. Several protesters were detained as police tried to clear the area.
The march started around 10 am from Gandhi Maidan, with students raising slogans while heading towards the Chief Minister’s residence. Barricades had been placed along the route, but the protesters removed them as they moved ahead.
The protest later grew as a farmers' group demanding action on land-related issues also joined the demonstration in Patna. The group carried black flags, following which CRPF personnel were deployed at the protest site.
Students have been protesting in Patna’s Gardanibagh area for several weeks. Their main demands include holding a single-level examination for BPSC-TRE 4, greater transparency in recruitment, recruitment exams conducted by the Bihar Staff Selection Commission (BSSC), and equal opportunities for Hindi-medium candidates.
The latest protest came a day after student representatives held talks with the Bihar government. Although the discussions were described as positive, the students decided to continue their protest and announced the march from Gandhi Maidan to the Chief Minister’s residence.
Student leader Saurav Kumar said the talks with the government were positive, but the protesters would continue their agitation until their demands were addressed. He said the students had been asked to form a delegation for further discussions, but they made it clear that they wanted to meet Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary or, alternatively, the Education Minister.
"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.
“Our first demand is to meet Samrat Choudhary. If that is not possible, we want to meet the Education Minister. We will not meet anyone else,” he said.
- With inputs from agencies
