Pappu Yadav joins Bihar students' hunger strike over BPSC exam irregularities

Independent MP Pappu Yadav on Sunday sat on a hunger strike at a protest site in Patna's Gardanibagh area, lending support to student protesters demanding action over alleged irregularities in the 70th Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) examinations.

Research scholars, along with BPSC and Bihar Staff Selection Commission (BSSC) aspirants, have been camping at the site for over a fortnight. Their demands include a review of new recruitment rules for assistant professors and action against alleged inconsistencies in the state civil services exam.

Speaking to reporters, Mr. Yadav said the 70th BPSC exam should be scrapped and re-conducted afresh. "Research scholars have been on 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," he said.

He alleged marking inconsistencies in the 70th BPSC exam, frequent question paper leaks, police action against protesting students, and disproportionate weightage to English 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," the MP added.

Mr. Yadav also raised concerns about the TRE-4 exam notification and said the government was giving undue preference to English-medium candidates over Hindi-medium ones, which he claimed was contrary to UGC and NET rules.

In a broader criticism of the central government, he accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of labelling educated youth as 'intellectual Naxals'. Mr. Modi had said during his Independence Day speech on Saturday that while armed Naxals were being eliminated, intellectual Naxals must also be identified and isolated.

Mr. Yadav, an Independent MP who supports the INDIA bloc, has been a vocal critic of the state and central governments on issues concerning students and youth. His participation in the hunger strike has brought renewed attention to the ongoing protest in Patna.