After Jharkhand and Delhi Protests, Youth Take to Patna Streets Over Cancellation of 70th BPSC Exam

Police scuffled with thousands of teaching aspirants in Patna on Tuesday after candidates breached security barricades near JP Golambar and marched towards the Chief Minister's residence, spilling out onto the streets over demands for the cancellation of the 70th BPSC examination.

Following weeks of student-led agitations in neighbouring Jharkhand and the nationwide youth movement sparked by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), mounting anger over recruitment delays has now spilled heavily into Bihar. Demonstrators gathered at Gardanibagh under the leadership of student activist Aman Kumar, backed by over 15 student bodies, before advancing towards Dakbungalow Crossing.

Protesters Breach Barricades at JP Golambar Amid Heavy Police Deployment

Security personnel and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) units erected massive iron barricades along the route to halt the advancing crowd. However, determined candidates pushed past the security cordon near JP Golambar and surged towards Dakbungalow Crossing.

Tensions escalated rapidly as security forces began detaining key organisers to regain control, resulting in physical altercations between police and candidates. Students broke through barricades as they headed towards Raj Bhavan from Gandhi Maidan, demanding the cancellation of the 70th BPSC examination.

Opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav and several teachers' organisations have publicly extended their support to the protesting students.

Aspirants Demand Domicile Reservation and Format Overhaul

The immediate trigger for the march is the proposed format of the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) Teacher Recruitment Examination (TRE-4). Aspirants are demanding the abolition of the newly introduced preliminary-cum-mains format, the removal of negative marking, and the strict enforcement of a 100% domicile policy to reserve state teaching jobs for Bihar residents.

Protesters argue that complex multi-tier screening and penalty marking unfairly penalise local candidates who have spent years preparing for single-tier selection tests.

A 13-Point Charter Targeting Recruitment Delays

Beyond the TRE-4 controversy, the student coalition has submitted a 13-point charter of demands addressing widespread administrative delays and transparency lapses across state recruitment boards.

• Exam Cancellations and Re-tests: Fresh tests for the BPSC 70th Combined Competitive Examination and the cancellation of the Sub-Inspector recruitment drive for 1,799 positions.
• Transparency Measures: Mandatory release of question papers, official answer keys, and candidate OMR sheets immediately following exams, alongside a fixed annual recruitment calendar.
• Process Acceleration: Immediate commencement of the Bihar Eligibility Test (BET), fast-tracking of long-pending Bihar Staff Selection Commission (BSSC) drives, and filling vacant librarian posts.
• Structural Reforms: Enacting stringent anti-paper-leak legislation, defining clear age-relaxation norms, and establishing time-bound grievance redressal mechanisms for stalled appointments.