Patna: As protests over government job recruitment examinations continue in Bihar and Jharkhand, Independent MP Pappu Yadav, who supports the INDIA bloc, joined an indefinite hunger strike in Patna on Sunday over alleged irregularities in the 70th Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) examination and other recruitment-related issues.
Research scholars, along with Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) and Bihar Staff Selection Commission (BSSC) aspirants, have been protesting at Patna's Gardanibagh for multiple demands, including changes to the recruitment rules for assistant professors and alleged irregularities in the state civil services examination.
Yadav demanded that the 70th BPSC examination be scrapped and conducted afresh.
"Research scholars have been on a hunger strike for the last 13 days, but there is nobody to listen to them. Neither the chief minister nor Bihar's education minister is paying heed to their grievances. The education minister talks about introducing the UPSC mains pattern in BPSC exams, which is bereft of any logic. The entire system is in a mess," he told reporters.
He alleged there were marking inconsistencies in the 70th BPSC exam, frequent question paper leaks, police brutality against protesting students in the state, and disproportionate weightage to the English language in government exams.
"The government itself accepted that the question paper of the 70th BPSC examination had leaked. Such incidents have happened even before. However, when students protest against such inconsistencies, they are beaten up and sent to jail," he said.
Yadav accused the government of "continuously committing injustice" against students and "refusing to listen to them."
He also raised concerns over the proposed TRE-4 examination notification and alleged that Hindi-medium candidates were being disadvantaged.
"Students are seriously concerned about the TRE-4 exam notification. Additionally, the government accords disproportionate weightage to English-medium candidates vis-à-vis those opting for Hindi, which is contrary to UGC and NET rules," he said.
Yadav also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his Independence Day remarks referring to "intellectual Naxals."
During his address on Saturday, Modi had said that "while armed Naxals are eliminated in the country, we will have to identify and isolate intellectual Naxals."
The protest in the state came into the spotlight at a time when India came under the scanner over alleged irregularities in the NEET UG examination.
