BPSC exam row Prashant Kishor gives 3-day time to Bihar govt to resolve paper 'leak' issue

Patna, Dec 26 (PTI) Political strategist-turned-activist Prashant Kishor on Thursday gave a three-day time to the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar to resolve issues related to the alleged question paper leak of a recent PSC exam.
    The state has been witnessing a widespread demonstration by civil service aspirants over the issue and the police faced criticism for using force on protesters.
    Kishor, whose Jan Suraaj party had last week written to Chief Secretary Amrit Lal Meena for cancellation of the examination held by the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) on December 13, warned the police of protests if job seekers are baton-charged in future.
    The Jan Suraaj party chief on Thursday reached Gardani Bagh, the designated place for organising protests or dharna, where civil service aspirants have been holding a sit-in for the last several days and demanding cancellation of the December 13 exam.
    "The government must meet protesting students or their representatives and consider their demand for re-examination. I am giving an ultimatum to the state government. The administration must resolve this issue within three days," Kishor said.
    He extended support to the protesters and said he would join a march on Monday.
    "I am always here to support the students. I will also join protest march of the students tomorrow. I will be at the forefront. If the police resort to baton-charge, I will be the first to face that. The police action against students on Wednesday is highly condemnable," he said while addressing the protesting aspirants.
    Chaos erupted outside the BPSC office on Wednesday when police baton-charged the protesters who were seeking cancellation of the 70th Integrated Combined Competitive Examination (CCE) 2024.
    The demonstrators alleged irregularities in the exam, including paper leaks, and sought re-examination.
    A group of protesters marched towards the BPSC office to press their demands, and a confrontation between police personnel and the job seekers ensued after they were stopped.
    RJD supremo Lalu Prasad also condemned the police action against protesting job aspirants.
    "Police action against protesting students was wrong. Police should not have done this", Lalu told reporters in Patna on Thursday.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)