Patna (Bihar): The anger of students and youth in Bihar refuses to die down as All India Students Association (AISA) and other youth organisations have called for a state-wide bandh today in protest against the alleged discrepancies in the Railway Recruitment Board’s (RRB) NTPC stage 1 exam results.
The strike call has the support of many political parties as well. While all the constituent parties of Bihar Mahagathbandhan are coming out in support of the students, all the wings of the Jan Adhikar Party are also backing the shutdown. Student organization Inquilabi Naujawan Sabha has also supported the bandh call.
Apart from the alleged rigging in the exam results, the students and youth have called the state-wide shutdown against the lathi charge, lawsuit and arrest of their agitating colleagues.
On Thursday, all the constituent parties of the grand alliance held a press conference against the attitude being adopted by the government against the students. During this, RJD state president Jagdanand Singh gave a stern warning to the government along with announcing his support for the Bihar bandh.
In a joint statement issued here, the RJD, Congress, CPI and CPI(M) said, “Bihar has the highest number of young people in the country and has the highest unemployment rate. Students are being cheated by the Central as well as Bihar governments.” “It keeps promising jobs for them but when they come out on the streets demanding jobs, the Nitish Kumar government rains baton on them.”
Meanwhile, former state Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, who heads the NDA constituent- Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), also came in support of the protesting students. In the wake of FIRs lodged against several teachers of coaching institutes in Patna, Manjhi on Thursday said that such a step can only help intensify the students’ agitation.
“FIRs against teachers like Khan Sir could further provoke students for undeclared agitations in Bihar. The time has come for the governments to talk on unemployment and come out with a solution,” Manjhi said.
What happened till now?
The results of the RRB Non-Technical Popular Categories (NTPC) exams was released on January 14-15 for shortlisting the candidates for the CBT-2. Around 1.4 crore job-aspirants had appeared in the exams. However, candidates alleged discrepancies in the results and started protesting against it.
The agitation gained momentum with youngsters stopping trains and blocking railway tracks at several places. Police resorted to tear gas and lathi-charge at several places even as the protesting youth set passenger trains on fire and pelted stones at police.
On Tuesday, the protesting students staged a sit-in on the railway tracks at many places, disrupting the trains for several hours. However, in the meantime, the Railway Ministry issued a statement, warning of banning the protesting candidates for life from getting railway jobs. The Railway Ministry also suspended RRB exams and formed a committee to look into the students' demands.
Teachers sued
Several teachers in Bihar came out in support of the agitating students following which police took against them. Khan Sir, a prominent teacher of Patna, had alleged that the railway ministry placed an additional exam burden on those who have already cleared their first examination. Following his statement, he along with 15 other teachers of prominent coaching institutes in Patna, were booked for provoking students. A case was registered against the operators of various coaching institutes in Patna's Patrakarnagar police station.
Police have also lodged a case against three-four hundred people for obstructing the road, humiliating the magistrates and policemen and vandalizing the road. A case was registered under various sections of the IPC for obstructing traffic, public way, among other charges.
Read: All you need to know about Railway Recruitment Board, and its functioning
