Patna, Dec 23 (IANS) The ongoing hunger strike by Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) candidates in Patna’s Gardanibagh has intensified as the health conditions of some of the protestors have worsened.
On Monday, one candidate was hospitalised at Gardanibagh Hospital before being transferred to Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) due to a further decline in his condition.
The protestors, including five candidates on hunger strike, are demanding the cancellation and reorganisation of the 70th BPSC Preliminary Examination. They have been staging a “Shiksha Satyagraha” for six consecutive days, with no response from the government or the Commission to their grievances.
Satyam Kumar, a candidate participating in the hunger strike, stated, “We have only one demand: the 70th BPSC prelims exam should be organised again. Apart from this, there is no other demand. The health of the students sitting on hunger strike has started deteriorating. One of my friends had to be admitted to the hospital on Monday.”
The protest highlights the growing unrest among candidates who allege irregularities in the examination process. Despite the worsening health conditions of the protestors, no officials have engaged with them to address their concerns, leading to heightened tensions around the issue.
Saurabh Kumar, a student leader, emphasised the disparity in the difficulty level of question papers, stating, “The biggest concern is that the candidates who will appear for the exam on January 4 will either get a difficult or an easy question paper. Due to this, all the candidates will not get the same questions. We have only one demand– that the entire exam should be cancelled and conducted again.”
Adding to the grievances, Kumar highlighted the lack of the normalisation process. He pointed out that “The Commission is saying that normalisation was not implemented. But there were 12,000 candidates at the exam centre where the exam was cancelled. There are not so many candidates in one district. In such a situation, how is the result possible without normalisation?”
Sanjeev Kumar, another protesting student, referred to past instances, particularly the 67th BPSC examination, where the state government had cancelled and re-conducted the exam after a paper leak.
He said, “When the paper was leaked in BPSC 67th, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar took the initiative and the paper was cancelled. The examination was conducted again in a transparent manner. These exams involve crucial posts like SDM and DSP. If there is a possibility of malpractice this time, the examination should be cancelled and re-conducted.”
–IANS
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