Thousands of students protesting over irregularities in the 70th Preliminary Test (PT) conducted by the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) thronged the streets in Patna on Thursday demanding re-examination.This protest march was organised just one day before the next hearing in the case was scheduled in Patna High Court.

For the past six weeks the BPSC aspirants have been protesting at the designated site here in Gardanibagh. This was the first occasion when they took to the streets. The previous street protests were organised by political parties in their support.

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The students said that they were hopeful of receiving support from political parties in their struggle. But none of them extended genuine support, be it Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, Communist Party leader Dipankar Bhattacharya, independent MP Rajiv Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav or Jan Suraj Party founder Prashant Kishor.

Since the government continued to ignore them, they decided to register their protest in a big way. The student leaders had given a call to job aspirants from across the state to gather in Patna on the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi’s death anniversary. They had announced the plan to meet Chief Minister Nitish Kumar with their demand of re-examination.

Since Kumar is busy with the Pragati Yatra, the students decided to march towards the BPSC office here. The sudden decision took the administration by surprise. They failed to stop the students, who thronged the main streets of the capital city including the Beer Chand Patel Path – a major thoroughfare in Patna where offices of all the major political parties are located.

The police team made an attempt to stop them near Income Tax Golambar on Bailey Road, lifeline of the city but failed, as students in a large number continued to march peacefully. The police finally stopped them before reaching the BPSC office and even used mild force to disperse them.

The student leaders said that they were successful in their aim to display the power of youth as they gathered in such a large number without any political support. They expressed the hope that now the government as well as the opposition parties will take them seriously, especially as assembly elections are scheduled later this year.

On 16 January, the Patna High Court heard the writ petition challenging the 70th Preliminary Test conducted by the BPSC on 13 December last on the basis of alleged paper leak and other irregularities. The court had directed the state government and the BPSC to clarify the situation by filing an affidavit by 30 January. Next hearing will be held on Friday (31 January).