Patna: The Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) examination strife has reached a new high following the protests that have intensified for the second month now, and the independent MP Pappu Yadav, who has initiated a state-wide bandh throughout Bihar, is becoming more and more popular as days go by.
The bandh, which was launched early on Sunday, was characterised by a partly positive response with some shutdowns of businesses reported all over the state. Patna students joined Chhatra Yuva Shakti in an attempt to stop Ashok Rajpath, which is in the vicinity of Patna University, while Yadav and his supporters were to take a march from Income Tax Roundabout to Dak Bungalow Chowk.
Yadav, who commented to journalists, said that “the government has no more time; the anti-student elements are going to die. The poor people and the students of Bihar are on the streets to support this bandh.”
The protests that erupted in the middle of December because of alleged paper leaks and the paper irregularities in BPSC preliminary exams that took place in 2024 have really taken off very well. The president of the Jan Suraaj Party, Prashant Kishor, has been on an indefinite hunger strike for 11 days, despite a short stay in the hospital following his arrest and later release on bail last week.
In Begusarai, Yadav’s followers who blocked National Highway 31 were chanting slogans against the government. This act violated Yadav’s previous statement that the bandh would not involve disturbance of the national highways or railways.
The issue has been a topic of conversation among a myriad of political parties. Kishor, who got recently discharged from Medanta Hospital, is rumoured to rejoin the protests. His party, Jan Suraaj, has made it public that the next stage of their fun set will begin on Tuesday, and posters have appeared across the city.
The BPSC has firmly reiterated its stance insisting on any misconduct whatsoever and has been emphasising the fairness. Nonetheless, the decision taken by the commission to have a re-examination solely for one centre in Patna has come off as insufficient to the protesters, who are insisting on a total cancellation and re-launch of the primary examination.
As the situation remains stagnant, it is yet unknown what the implications on the Bihar administrative services recruitment process will be with thousands of applicants stuck in the centre of disputes and oppositional claims.