BPSC 70th CCE exam row: Door of dialogue should always remain open for students, says Chirag Paswan

PATNA: Union Minister Chirag Paswan on Thursday extended his support to students demanding the cancellation of the recently held Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) examination. Speaking to reporters here, Paswan, who heads the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), condemned the lathi-charge on protestors and urged the Nitish Kumar government to adopt an open approach toward dialogue.

"I am not in favour of lathi-charge on students at all. Whatever students say must be heard seriously and their genuine demands must be accepted. The door of dialogue should always remain open for students," Paswan added.

The minister’s remarks came amidst protests by BPSC aspirants in Patna , who have been seeking an audience with Kumar over alleged irregularities in the December 13 examination. While the government denied allegations of a paper leak, it ordered a re-examination for more than 12,000 candidates who appeared at a centre here.

Meanwhile, the health condition of Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor, who has been on a hunger strike since January 2 in support of the protesting BPSC aspirants and was admitted to Medanta Hospitals on Tuesday due to deteriorating health, improved on Thursday.

According to a party statement, Kishor was moved out of the ICU to an isolation ward following improvement in his condition. Despite his improved health, party leaders claimed that Kishor (47) was still suffering from pneumonia and kidney stones. Addressing a press conference, party's vice-president Lalan urged the Bihar CM to respond to Kishor’s demands, saying, "We are not asking the CM to meet a delegation of Jan Suraaj. We are requesting him to talk to a delegation of students. It will benefit the state’s youth and ensure his well-being."

Former Assam-cadre IPS officer Anand Mishra, a senior member of Jan Suraaj Party, echoed Lalan’s sentiments, saying, "Even in insurgency-affected areas, governments talk to militants. What stops the Bihar CM from holding a dialogue with students?” Jan Suraaj Party’s working president Manoj Bharti dismissed the government’s claim that the December 13 exam cannot be canceled due to lack of evidence of a question paper leak.

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"A re-exam has already been conducted for candidates assigned to the Bapu Pariksha Parisar, which affected nearly 12,000 candidates. The BPSC would not have ordered a re-exam if everything was fine. However, re-examining only a select group of candidates is unfair. This is not an exam like NEET for medical admissions; it determines government employment," Bharti argued.

Addressing the press conference, advocate Kumar Amit, who is associated with the party, presented what he claimed was a certified copy of the court order granting Kishor bail.

Amit highlighted the irony of the charges against Kishor, noting, "The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections imposed on him include ‘rioting with deadly weapons,’ even though not even a stick was found on him or his supporters."