Patna, January 2
Prashant Kishore, the founder of Jan Swaraj, has sat on a fast to death at Gandhi Maidan over the demand of the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) to cancel the examination on December 13. Kishore had announced to start his hunger strike from the historic Gandhi Maidan three days ago, giving a ’48-hour ultimatum’ to the Nitish Kumar government. Admittedly, the aggrieved candidates had demanded the cancellation of the examination with reference to the paper leak. On the other hand, the local administration said that it is illegal to fast to death at Gandhi Maidan as it is not a designated place for dharna demonstrations.
Surrounded by his supporters at Gandhi Maidan, Kishore said, “My main demand is to cancel the exam on December 13 and conduct the exam afresh. I have come to know that the posts for which the exam has been conducted are being virtually sold out. Such corrupt officials should be identified and brought to justice.” Kishore demanded that a white paper be issued regarding the competitive examinations conducted during the last ten years. The former election strategist claimed that the government has failed to crack down on the education mafia responsible for the paper leak. On the other hand, CPI(ML) Liberation announced that its student wing ‘Aisa’ along with the rival organizations will stage a dharna outside the residence of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday.
It is known that nearly five lakh candidates were sitting in the examination conducted by BPSC on December 13 and during this time, hundreds of examinees who had come to take the examination at Bapu Pariksha Parisar had boycotted the examination due to the alleged paper leak. The Bihar Public Service Commission, however, denied the allegations of paper leak and said that these allegations were made as part of a conspiracy to cancel the examination. More than 10,000 candidates who appeared in the Bapu Pariksha Parisar have now been asked to appear for the exam on January 4 at 22 different centers in the city. -News-Patiala