Police clash with BPSC protesters in Patna.
Jan Suraaj Party founder and prominent political strategist Prashant Kishor took center stage in Patna as he led a march with protesting students at Gandhi Maidan. The demonstration aimed to address grievances concerning the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) and highlight the alleged irregularities in examinations and recruitment processes. Kishor, who has been vocal about systemic issues in Bihar, spearheaded the movement with the goal of meeting Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to present the students’ demands directly.
The protest drew a significant number of participants, primarily students and aspirants preparing for the BPSC examinations. They voiced their frustration over delays in results, frequent changes in exam patterns, and perceived inefficiencies in the commission’s functioning. Chanting slogans and holding banners, the demonstrators called for reforms and transparency in the recruitment process.
As the march progressed, tensions escalated when police attempted to stop the protesters from moving towards the Chief Minister’s residence. The situation turned volatile, with police deploying water cannons and resorting to lathi charges to disperse the crowd. Many protesters sustained injuries, and the crackdown drew criticism from various quarters, including opposition parties and activists. Prashant Kishor condemned the police action, reiterating his commitment to the students’ cause.
The Bihar Police on Sunday employed water cannons and resorted to lathi charges to disperse hundreds of civil service aspirants protesting in Patna. The aspirants have been demanding the cancellation and re-examination of the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) preliminary exams conducted earlier this month. Tensions flared when some protesters tried to breach police barricades set up to block access to the Chief Minister’s residence.
The protest was spearheaded by Jan Suraaj Party founder and political strategist Prashant Kishor, who had called on students to gather at Gandhi Maidan in Patna. Leading the march alongside the aspirants, Kishor aimed to meet Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to present their grievances. However, the police erected barricades on roads leading to the Chief Minister’s residence via Bailey Road, stopping the protesters near JP Roundabout. Refusing to back down, Kishor and several demonstrators staged a dharna (sit-in) at the spot, demanding a response from the state government.
The protest stems from allegations of mismanagement and irregularities in the BPSC preliminary exams, which were conducted on December 13 across 912 centers in Bihar. Since December 18, candidates have been protesting, citing major lapses such as non-functional CCTV cameras, ineffective jammers, and delays in distributing question papers at several examination centers. These irregularities have fueled doubts about the transparency and fairness of the examination process, prompting demands for its cancellation and a fresh re-examination across all centers.
The issue became even more contentious when the BPSC announced it would reschedule the exam only for candidates at a single center in Patna, where an examination official tragically died of a heart attack amid the chaos. This partial measure has drawn widespread criticism, with protesters arguing that it fails to address the systemic lapses reported across the majority of centers. There should be a level playing field amid complaints of delayed distribution of question papers, non-functional CCTV cameras, and jammers at several other centers. Students are justified in seeking fresh prelims for all 912 examination centers,” Kishor said, strongly backing the aspirants’ demands.
The police crackdown on Sunday escalated when protesters, frustrated by the lack of a meaningful response from authorities, attempted to breach the barricades. The use of water cannons and lathi charges left several protesters injured and further inflamed the situation. Kishor condemned the police’s actions, calling it an unnecessary and excessive response to a legitimate and peaceful protest. “The students are fighting for their rights, and the administration’s high-handedness will only worsen the crisis,” he remarked.
The demonstration has also drawn criticism from opposition parties and social activists, who have accused the Nitish Kumar-led government of failing to ensure fair examination processes and suppressing the voice of the youth. The incident has put the state government under pressure, as the aspirants’ demands resonate with a broader issue of inefficiencies and alleged corruption in recruitment and examination processes across various sectors.
Prashant Kishor, who has positioned himself as a champion of public causes through his Jan Suraaj campaign, emphasized the need for structural reforms in the state’s recruitment processes. “This isn’t just about one exam. It’s about restoring trust in the system. The youth of Bihar deserve better opportunities and a transparent process that ensures fairness for all,” he said during the sit-in.
The protests have brought to light the deeper frustrations among Bihar’s civil service aspirants, who face intense competition and high stakes in their journey toward government jobs. For many, the BPSC exams represent a critical pathway to stable employment and upward mobility, making the alleged lapses in the examination process all the more disheartening.
As the agitation continues, the state government has yet to provide a definitive response to the protesters’ demands. While the BPSC’s decision to partially reschedule the exam for one center may have been intended as a compromise, it has done little to placate the broader group of aspirants who feel let down by the system. The growing unrest among the youth underscores the urgency of addressing their concerns before the situation escalates further.
The protests in Patna mark another chapter in the ongoing struggle for accountability and transparency in Bihar’s public institutions. With public support growing for the aspirants and political leaders like Kishor lending their voices to the cause, the state government faces mounting pressure to act decisively. Whether this results in systemic reforms or further confrontation remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: the voices of Bihar’s youth are demanding to be heard.