Rahul Gandhi Offers Support to BPSC Aspirants on X, Kishor to Fast Until Demands are Met

The protests in Patna, Bihar, gained momentum as Rahul Gandhi expressed his solidarity with job aspirants who have been agitating against the alleged paper leak and mismanagement of the exams recently held by the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC).

Rahul Gandhi accused the ruling coalition partner BJP of "destroying the future of the youth." He, however, spared Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Opposition leader Lalu Prasad Yadav had on Wednesday invited Nitish to the INDIA bloc to contest against the BJP in the assembly polls scheduled for October later this year.

Rahul Gandhi wrote on X, drawing a parallel between the protesters and a mythical character from Mahabharata, Ekalavya, that the BJP is "cutting the thumb of the youth of India just like Ekalavaya, destroying their future". He also questioned the recruitment process across the country alleging that vacancies are hardly announced, even if they are announced, there are seldom any exams and if exams are conducted, the question paper is leaked.

As reported by the Times of India, Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to visit Patna in mid-January.

The protesting job aspirants are demanding the cancellation of the Integrated Combined (Preliminary) Competitive Examination (CCE) 2024 which was conducted by the BPSC on December 13, 2024.

The aspirants claim that question papers were delivered late in certain exam centres and that CCTV cameras and jammers were not working at several test venues. As of now, the BPSC has only agreed to reschedule the exam for those who took it in the Patna centre where an examiner suffered a fatal heart attack in the melee.

Earlier on Friday, independent MP Pappu Yadav and Chhatra Yuva Shakti staged a "rail roko" (stop the trains) protest at Sachiwalay Halt Railway Station in Patna.

On Thursday, election campaign strategist and founder of the Jan Suraaj Party Prashant Kishor also announced his support for the movement. He announced a fast until the demands of the job aspirants were met.

Kishor is staging his protest at Gandhi Maidan in Patna. Hindi newspaper Hindustan reported that the government could come up with an ultimatum to remove the protesters from the Maidan by Friday evening.

The move by Kishor is an attempt to woo Bihar's voters who have so far been indifferent to his political party, Jan Suraaj Party. The party failed miserably during the bypolls held in November 2024.