Bihar: Jan Suraaj chief Prashant Kishor to fast unto death seeking cancellation of BPSC exam
Prashant Kishor on Monday had said that he would wait for "48 hours" and if no action is taken then he would intensify the protests.
Jan Suraaj chief Prashant Kishor on Thursday announced that he is going to fast unto death to press for the demand of cancelling the recently held Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) exam, candidates of which have been protesting alleging leak.
Prashant Kishor announced his decision at Patna's Gandhi Maidan, which is located just a couple of kilometres away from the spot where several candidates have been protesting for nearly two weeks.
"My demands include cancellation of the exam and holding of fresh tests. I also seek action against corrupt officials who had allegedly put posts, to be filled by the exams, on sale," news agency PTI quoted Kishor as saying.
Meanwhile, amid the ongoing agitation, fresh First Information Report (FIR) was also filed against the Jan Suraaj chief on Thursday.
Protests have been going on in Patna since December 13, after the BPSC conducted the Integrated Combined (Preliminary) Competitive (CCE) 2024. Aspiring candidates have been demanding the cancellation of the exam due to claims of question paper leak and several other irregularities.
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Several candidates alleged that the question papers were distributed late, some even receiving their papers nearly an hour after the exam was scheduled to begin. Meanwhile, some others condemned that answer sheets were torn, raising further suspicions of malpractice.
However, Bihar's authorities have rejected the calls for the cancellation of the entire exam. The BPSC Examination Controller, Rajesh Kumar Singh, said that there was "no question of cancelling the entire BPSC exam", pressing that the preliminary exam at the Bapu Pariksha Parisar centre was only cancelled due to disruptions caused by a group of protesters.
Notably, Kishor had sounded support to the agitating students earlier as well, calling for an end to the systemic corruption in Bihar's examinations. He alleged that no exam in the state has happened without corruption or paper leaks.
On December 26, Kishor gave an "ultimatum" to the Bihar government and demanded that the issue of the BPSC aspirants be resolved within three days or he himself will lead the protests. He had called on the NDA-led government to take immediate action in this regard.
On Monday again, shortly after a delegation of protesters met Chief Secretary Amrit Lal Meena, the Jan Suraaj founder noted that he would wait for "48 hours". After which, he said, he would intensify the protests if the Nitish Kumar administration failed to take any action on the alleged paper leak for CCE held on December 13.
