Chirag Paswan extends support to Bihar exam protests, criticises police action on aspirants

Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief and Union Minister Chirag Paswan has extended support to the aspirants protesting over alleged irregularities in the 70th Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) exam in Patna, stating he presented their demands before Chief Minister Samrat Chowdhary.

Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief and Union Minister Chirag Paswan has extended support to the aspirants protesting over alleged irregularities in the 70th Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) exam in Patna, stating he presented their demands before Chief Minister Samrat Chowdhary. On Tuesday, Chirag Paswan visited the protest site in Patna and extended his support to the BPSC aspirants. He also criticised the police action on protesters marching towards Raj Bhavan and the Chief Minister's residence, demanding the cancellation of the 70th BPSC examination.

The Union Minister posted on X on Tuesday, "Today, seeing the pictures of the lathi charge on the aspirants of the 70th BPSC exam in Patna left me deeply disturbed. At such a time, as a responsible ally of the NDA, it was also my responsibility to take the rightful demands of the students to the government. Upon reaching Patna today, I immediately went to the protest site and reached out to the students, listening seriously to their problems and demands." He called for a resolution with dialogue and sensitivity. Paswan added that the CM has assured him of considering the protesters' demands and bringing a positive resolution.

"After that, I met with the Honourable Chief Minister Samrat Chowdhary ji and firmly presented the demands and problems of the BPSC aspirants, BELTRON aspirants, and TRE-4 aspirants before him. "I firmly believe that the legitimate demands of the youth and aspirants should be resolved with dialogue and sensitivity. The Chief Minister ji has assured that serious consideration will be given to their demands and a positive resolution will be ensured at the earliest," the X post read.

Tensions escalated in Patna as police deployed water cannons to disperse students marching towards Raj Bhavan and the Chief Minister's residence to protest. The situation escalated when protesters attempted to cross restricted zones despite security barricades, prompting law enforcement to use water cannons and detain several individuals.

Urging a peaceful demonstration, BJP MP Manoj Tiwari noted, "If there is an issue, it will be heard. Whatever the problem may be, it should be raised peacefully. The government will listen to every issue and find a solution." Bihar Education Minister Mithilesh Tiwari maintained that the government has actively addressed the grievances and criticised political commentary from opposition figures.

Meanwhile, Bihar Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav wrote a letter to the Chief Minister, requesting immediate administrative engagement and a resolution without ignoring the students' concerns. In his letter, Yadav urged the state administration to conduct the TRE 4 as a single examination and immediately end the alleged discrimination faced by Hindi-speaking candidates in the BPSC Civil Services Main Examination and interview.

Along with the BPSC, the agitation focused on the proposed Teacher Recruitment Examination - Fourth Phase (TRE-4), with students objecting to conducting the TRE-4 exams in two phases across the state while demanding the immediate release of the official TRE-4 advertisement. (ANI)