Bpsc conducts retest at 22 centres in patna amid demand for cancellation

Bpsc conducts retest at 22 centres in patna amid demand for cancellation

Preliminary exam results to be announced by end of this month; retest demand had snowballed in recent weeks with a section of students staging protests and several politicians extending support.

The Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) on Saturday again conducted its 70th Combined (Preliminary) Competitive Examination at 22 centres in Patna district, including the Bapu Exam Centre (BEC) where allegations of irregularities had surfaced during the original test across 912 centres in the State on December 13.

The demand for a retest had snowballed in recent weeks with a section of students staging protests for conducting it afresh State-wide. Several politicians extended support to their demand, including Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav, Independent MP Pappu Yadav, and Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor.

Mr. Pappu Yadav had on Friday led his supporters in blocking rail and road traffic in several areas of Patna as well as other parts of the State.

The BPSC had earlier announced that a re-examination will be held only for candidates who took it at BEC. On Saturday, only 5,943 of the 12,012 eligible aspirants turned up at the centre.

“The exam was conducted peacefully at all the 22 centres in Patna district. The result of the preliminary exam would be announced by the end of this month followed by the main exam in April,” BPSC Examination Controller Rajesh Kumar Singh told The Hindu.

Aspirants’ fears

Asked about the demand for conducting a full retest, Neetu Kushwaha from Delhi, who sat for the exam on Saturday at Bankipur Girls High School, said, “I did not get the question paper last time at BEC. Only a handful of genuine students are demanding re-examination.”

Saddam Hussain, another student from Gaya who took the retest, expressed apprehension about how the candidates would be evaluated for two separate question papers. “How will marks be given and will there be any scaling during evaluation?” he said.

Hunger strike

Even as the examination went off incident-free in Patna on Saturday, the indefinite hunger strike of Mr. Kishor to press for the demand for cancellation of the December 13 exam entered its third day.

While the district administration said action would be taken against him for sitting in a prohibited area. Mr. Kishor demanded that he will not move an inch from the spot until Chief Minister Nitish Kumar meets the protesting students and listens to their grievances.