FIR against Prashant Kishore, 700 people for ‘organising’ BPSC protest without ‘permission’ | India News

NEW DELHI: A police case was filed against election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishore after he joined student protesters at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan on Sunday to support the applicants for government jobs‘ demand for a new examination.
He Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) aspirants have been demanding a new test for the 70th Combined Competitive Preliminary Examination (CCE Prelims).
He patna district magistrate (DM) said Kishore was booked for “organizing a meeting of students” defying the official order.
“Protesters gathered at Gandhi Maidan despite the administration’s warning that any demonstration there would be considered unauthorized. The district police have registered an FIR against 21 known persons, including Prashant Kishore, their party president Manoj Bharti, city tutor Ramanshu Mishra and 600 -700 unknown people for organizing a students’ meeting at Gandhi Maidan even after authorities denied him permission,” DM Chandrashekar Singh told PTI news agency.

What did Prashant Kishore say?

Prashant Kishor, the Jan Suraaj Festival founder, joined the protesters and walked alongside them during their march.
Speaking to reporters, Kishore said, “We are not going to protest. The students are sitting there, we are going to meet them. Gandhi Maidan is a public place, people go there every day. If students have no place, they will go to a public place. I don’t know why the government has put it into question of prestige, somewhere they are harming themselves.
He further added, “Bihar is the mother of democracy and if the students here do not have the right to say what they think, then this is becoming a ‘lathi-tantra’… that is why we are with the students.”
Kishor, also addressing the crowd, announced that a five-member student delegation would meet the principal secretary to discuss their demands.
“Officials confirmed their willingness to engage in discussions. If no substantive decisions are made, students will resume protests on Monday,” he said, urging protesters to temporarily stop their agitation.
Despite Kishor’s call, protesters continued to march towards the prime minister’s residence, leading to clashes with police and subsequent baton charges. The candidates insisted that their only demand was a new exam, refusing to be drawn into political debates.

What did the police say?

SP City Sweety Sahrawat said the police asked the protesting students to leave the venue as their representative was not there. He also claimed that they only used the water cannon but not the lathi charge but the video of police beating people.
“We asked the protesting students to leave the place, but they did not listen to us… We also said that they can submit their demands, that we are ready to listen to them… They also pushed us, after which we used water cannon on them. ..”, said.

Why did the situation escalate?

Chaos erupted near Gandhi Maidan on Sunday afternoon as police resorted to water cannon and lathi charges to disperse BPSC aspirants.
Clashes broke out near JP Golambar, under Gandhi Maidan police station area, when protesters broke barricades and marched towards the prime minister’s residence, shouting anti-government slogans. Several candidates were injured in the lathi charge.
Sehrawat also said that an FIR would be lodged against some protesters for disrupting law and order.
“The police detained about 11 or 12 aggressive protesters,” he added.
DM Chandrasekhar Singh has also declared Gandhi Maidan a restricted area, banning student gatherings there. After the crowd dispersed, the police dominated the area to maintain control.

Tejashwi calls lathi charge ‘very painful’

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav condemned the lathi charge against the protesting aspirants and said the protest was against normalisation.
“It is very painful how the police beat up the BPSC aspirants. Many people are seriously injured in this… We condemn this. The images that have emerged are painful. I am a young man and I can understand their situation. First of all, the people was protesting against normalization,” the former Bihar deputy chief minister said in a video statement.
The leader added: “On December 15 and 16, BPSC announced the cancellation of the exam in one center. If the document had been leaked, why is the exam canceled only in one center? It is a kind of normalization. That’s why students are protesting for a new exam, I also support it,” said the RJD leader.