A protest by students in Patna turned violent on Tuesday when police used batons and water cannons to stop them from marching to the Bihar Chief Minister’s residence. The students have been protesting in Patna since August 18, making various demands including changes to the format of the Teacher Recruitment Examination (TRE), transparency in all competitive examinations, and an end to alleged discrimination against Hindi-speaking candidates in exams held by the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC).
The students are demanding that the TRE be held in a single phase without negative marks. They also want a high-level independent inquiry into previous exam controversies. On Tuesday, hundreds of students gathered at J.P. Golambar near Gandhi Maidan to start the march toward Lok Sevak Awas, the official residence of the Chief Minister. The protesters, backed by the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), All India Students’ Association (AISA) and other student organisations, broke through the police barricades at Dak Bungalow Chowk at the heart of the city, leading to clashes with the police.
Several students as well as police personnel were injured in the scuffle, including a Deputy Superintendent of Police who suffered severe injuries in the stone-pelting by the protesters. A few girl students fainted. Due to the protest and the road blockade, vehicular movement was severely affected, leaving motorists stuck for hours. Many protesters were also detained by the police.
The escalation of the protests also came in the wake of controversial remarks made by BPSC Examination Controller Rajesh Kumar Singh on Monday while addressing a press conference in Patna. Singh had quoted the Hindi proverb ‘Hathi chale bazaar, kutta bhaunke hazar’ (focused people should ignore irrelevant criticisms), which many students assumed referred to protesters as ‘dogs’. Singh has since expressed regret, saying he had no intention to hurt anyone’s feelings and that he was quoted out of context.
Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav met the protesting students on Monday and urged the government not to ignore voices of the protesting youth but to establish a positive dialogue with them. Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary has launched the ‘Vidyarthi Sahyog’ portal to convey students’ issues and suggestions directly to the government. Student support camps will also be organised to address students’ grievances on the fourth Tuesday of every month, the government said.
