PATNA: Tension prevailed in Patna on Tuesday as students protesting the 70th Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) examination broke through police barricades while marching from Gandhi Maidan towards Raj Bhavan, demanding cancellation of the exam.The protesters attempted to move into the restricted area despite police barricading the route. The demonstration came amid continuing concerns raised by students over the conduct of the 70th BPSC examination.DSP Kamakhya Narayan Singh said police would stop the protesters if they tried to move ahead, while expressing hope that the students would agree following talks with senior officials.“We will stop them; we won’t let them proceed further. However, the dialogue has been positive, and we hope the students will agree. They have raised several issues with the senior officials, and the outcome has been positive. So, I expect the turnout to be lower and that they will agree. If they don’t, we will stop them right here. We won’t allow them to enter the restricted area,” the DSP said.The agitation has also brought other recruitment-related demands to the fore. Congress leader Sushil Kumar said protesters were seeking changes in the Teacher Recruitment Examination (TRE) 4.0 and action on issues concerning the BPSC, Bihar Staff Selection Commission (BSSC) and Sub-Inspector recruitment.“We want to state clearly that a single-stage examination must be implemented for TRE 4.0 at all costs, and negative marking should be abolished. There are numerous other issues as well, regarding the BPSC, BSSC, Sub-Inspector recruitment. The government has offered no assurances on any of these points. We have urged the Chief Minister to hold a dialogue; he should invite our delegation for talks. We have been on a hunger strike for nine days, yet no one is willing to listen to us. Just imagine, had the government engaged in dialogue, this situation would not have arisen. We are heading towards the Chief Minister’s residence; the Chief Minister should hold talks, and our delegation will go there for the discussion,” Kumar said.Students have been demanding cancellation of the 70th BPSC examination, alleging irregularities and paper leaks. The agitation has also focused on the proposed Teacher Recruitment Examination-Fourth Phase (TRE-4), with protesters opposing the proposal to conduct the exam in two phases across Bihar and demanding the release of the official TRE-4 advertisement.Meanwhile, Bihar Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav wrote to Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary over the ongoing BPSC row, urging the government not to ignore the protesters’ demands and to engage in constructive dialogue to resolve the issue.Yadav called for TRE-4 to be conducted as a single examination and sought an immediate end to what he described as discrimination against Hindi-speaking candidates in the BPSC Civil Services Main Examination and interview.He also demanded complete transparency in competitive examinations, including those conducted by the BPSC, BSSC and for Sub-Inspector and Constable recruitment. Yadav further sought a high-level independent inquiry into past examinations and strict action against recruitment mafias.The RJD leader also urged the government to announce time-bound schedules for all pending examinations, including BSSC Intermediate, CGL, ASO, BSO, Librarian and Accountant recruitment exams.
