'Water cannon, lathi charge in this harsh cold inhuman': Priyanka Gandhi Vadra slams Bihar govt over BPSC protests

NEW DELHI: Congress leader and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi on Monday hit out at the Bihar government after police lathi-charged protesting Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) aspirants demanding a re-examination of the 70th BPSC preliminary exams.

"Students were tortured for the second time in three days in Bihar. It is the government's job to stop corruption, rigging and paper leaks in examinations," Priyanka Gandhi wrote on X.



Hitting out at BJP's double engine government, Priyanka suggested that the protesting student's voices are being stifled through police action. "Instead of stopping corruption, students are being prevented from raising their voice. Water cannon and lathi charge on youth in this harsh cold is inhuman. BJP's double engine has become a symbol of double atrocities on the youth," she said.

Priyanka's reaction follows her brother Rahul Gandhi's criticism of the BJP-NDA government earlier last week, where he likened the incident to the example of 'Eklavya's thumb,' saying that the youth's future is being cut off in the same way by "leaking the papers."

However, it is not just the Congress party that has criticised the NDA government in Bihar. The police action have drawn condemnation from other opposition parties as well within INDIA bloc. Big guns from parties like the RJD and AAP have joined the chorus against the Bihar government.

Former Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav called the police action against the aspirants “painful” and condemned it. “It is very painful how BPSC aspirants were beaten up by the police. Many people are badly injured. We condemn this. The visuals that have surfaced are distressing. As a young man, I can understand their situation,” the RJD leader said, according to news agency ANI.

Meanwhile, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh described the incident as an example of the “dictatorship of an autocratic government,” adding that this behavior was unexpected from chief minister Nitish Kumar.

“Deadly lathi-charge by police on BPSC candidates. Treating the youth, who have been on hunger strike for many days, like animals is a glaring example of dictatorship. Nitish Ji, who emerged from the student movement, this was not expected from you,” Sanjay Singh wrote on X, sharing a video of the incident.



He urged the Bihar government to address the students' demands, saying that “the country will be run not by sticks but by dialogue and the Constitution.”

Additionally, Prashant Kishor, founder of the Jan Suraaj Party, joined the protesting students and called for an end to corruption in Bihar’s examination process. However, Kishor was slapped with an FIR for “unauthorized assembly, incitement, and disturbing public order.”

The aspirants have led a protest for more than a week, urging cancellation of the 70th Integrated Combined Competitive (Preliminary) Examination (CCE), 2024, conducted by the BPSC over allegations of a question paper leak.

Select The Times of India as your preferred source on Google Search