Political strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor began an indefinite hunger strike on Thursday, demanding the cancellation of the Bihar Civil Services (BPSC) examination.
Thousands of candidates have been staging protests for over a week seeking the cancellation of the 70th Integrated Combined Competitive (Preliminary) Examination (CCE), 2024, conducted by the BPSC over allegations of question paper leak. The candidates have also sought re-examination of the examination and a meeting with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
Kishor, who is the founder of the Jan Suraaj Party, also extended his support to the protesting students and called for "an end to systemic corruption" in Bihar's examinations. Kishor had given an "ultimatum" to the Bihar government, saying that the demands of the protesting BPSC aspirants should be addressed within three days, or he would lead protests himself.
Notably, a case was filed against Prashant Kishor and others for allegedly instigating the students' protest in Patna's Gandhi Maidan.
He was asked to step away from the protest site by the aspirants on Monday, after the students accused him of being absent during the lathicharge by Bihar Police. Kishor was met with slogans of "Prashant Kishor, go back" upon his arrival at the protest site, leading to heated exchanges with student leaders. Tensions escalated when Kishor remarked, "You take blankets from us and then show us attitude?"
However, addressing a press conference on Monday, Kishor claimed that the students were leading the movement, as decided during the "Chhatra Sansad" (Student Parliament).
He said that he left the site after advising students to disperse, only for the lathicharge to occur 45 minutes later. He condemned the police action and announced plans to file an FIR against Patna Police, take the matter to court, and approach the Human Rights Commission.
The Jan Suraaj Party chief had warned that if no resolution is reached during the delegation meeting, he would join the protest himself on Thursday (January 2).
Source: India Today