Sitting underneath a towering statue of Mahatma Gandhi at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan with scores of scholars, Jan Suraaj Social gathering founder Prashant Kishor has been on a fast-unto-death since Thursday.
Other than college students, there are a number of aged on the dharna website, which is separate from the unique protest that’s ongoing at Gardanibagh.
In the future and one chilly winter evening into his starvation strike, Kishor says there isn’t a query of budging from his place. As a substitute, he tells The Indian Specific: “If the federal government doesn’t order re-examination of the Bihar Public Service Fee’s prelims earlier than thirty first January (the date of announcement of the BPSC prelims end result), we won’t let the federal government maintain the January 26 official perform at this floor. We are going to be certain that not less than 500 college students come to the bottom from every block of Bihar.”
Kishor, who claims to be transferring Bihar politics away from caste and in direction of the problem of training and jobs, says the protest has gone past being simply concerning the BPSC. “It’s an expression of the scholars’ cumulative anger in opposition to the paperwork, which has mishandled a number of aggressive examinations within the final 10 years. To the federal government, it could look like a standard protest, however it might flip right into a motion if the system doesn’t get up.”
The ballot strategist-turned-politician additionally repeats his allegation that the Nitish Kumar-led NDA authorities within the state is hesitant about ordering a re-examination of the BPSC prelims due to “the large corruption at play”.
“We have now learnt that seats are being bought for between Rs 30 lakh and Rs 1.5 crore. In a state the place a former DGP’s position is underneath investigation over an examination for constables, what can one count on?” he says, including that the Jan Suraaj Social gathering wished “an intensive investigation of all alleged and reported malpractices and paper leaks in all examinations performed by varied state authorities businesses within the final 10 years”.
As Kishor, clad in denims and a gray sweater, takes a break to sip water, the scholars proceed their protest songs round him, focusing on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, state police and the BPSC. A scholar croons the movie Mughal-e-Azam’s tune “Pyar kiya to darna kya”, to counsel there isn’t a backing out from the protest.
The protesters ask why no authorities official got here to satisfy them from December 18, once they started their dharna, until December 28. Among the many solely politicians to assist them, they are saying, was Purnea MP Rajesh Ranjan or Pappu Yadav, who’s an Unbiased. On Friday, Pappu Yadav tried to disrupt practice site visitors as a part of a bandh name.
“Now, with Prashant Kishor, we really feel somebody has absolutely embraced the protest,” says Rajesh Kumar, who’s right here from Aurangabad.
Kishor, who says that “the sheer power of scholars” is maintaining their spirits up, provides that Nitish Kumar ought to present the unemployment allowance to jobless youths between the ages of 18 and 35 that his authorities introduced again in 2015 underneath the Saat Nischay programme.
One other demand on Kishor’s checklist is a domicile coverage for Bihar. Given the extent of unemployment within the state, he says, “there isn’t a level not having a domicile coverage”. “In latest academics’ recruitment examinations, about 60,000 academics appointed have been from outdoors the state,” he claims.
The Jan Suraaj Social gathering founder additionally takes on the latest lathicharge over the BPSC examination protesters. The opposition RJD has accused Kishor of inciting the protesters, with some youths claiming that Kishor “deserted” them simply earlier than the police cracked down and returned solely after it had gone away.
“Within the final three years, Bihar has seen 87 lathicharges – the best within the nation, not simply on college students however on academics, anganwadi staff and political staff,” Kishor claims. “How can we name ourselves the Mom of the Republic when we now have a lathi tantra (coverage) in place?”
Noting that the 1974 Jayaprakash Narayan motion additionally began with a motley group of scholars, he says Bihar is on the cusp of one other such second. Scholar wings of Left events have lent their assist to the protesters’ demand now, whereas the RJD too has backed a re-examination whereas calling paper leaks “state sponsored”.
Kishor, nevertheless, says all events have accomplished solely posturing on the problem, and questions the BJP’s “silence”. “When the BJP was within the Opposition, its senior chief and MP Janardhan Singh Sigriwal was injured throughout a lathicharge. It’s cowardly for them to not react now,” he says, including that the BJP might find yourself “the most important loser” whilst it’s trying to turn into the most important celebration in Bihar, overpowering the JD(U), prefer it had accomplished in Maharashtra.
The BPSC has resisted requires cancellation of the whole prelims examination, saying the irregularity was confined to a centre in Patna, the place a re-examination had already been ordered. “We’re going forward with the re-examination on the Patna centre on Saturday and the prelims outcomes shall be introduced on January 31,” mentioned a senior BPSC official.
A senior authorities official mentioned: “Chief Secretary Amrit Lal Meena is intently monitoring the BPSC protest.”
Additionally current at Kishor’s protest spot is former DIG Arvind Thakur. As Thakur will get as much as take the mic and proceed the protest songs, Kishor says: “He has simply joined us from the BJP. We’re getting assist from varied strata of society.”
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