Bihar: Bandh over Railway exams begins

Main alliance of opposition parties, led by the RJD, is supporting the bandh

ITDC INDIA EPRESS/ITDC NEWS R  A bandh called by student organisations began in Bihar on Friday to protest against alleged “irregularities” in the Railway Recruitment Board's examination process.

The main alliance of opposition parties in Bihar, led by the RJD, is supporting the bandh.

Reports said bandh organisers burnt tyres and blocked roads in Patna on Friday while in Hajipur, RJD MLA Mukesh Raushan led a group of protesters at the Ramashish Chowk.

Protests began in Bihar earlier this week after several students claimed that there were discrepancies in the RRB recruitment process. The government's decision to conduct two computer-based tests (CBT) for the RRB Non-Technical Popular Categories (NTPC) had irked thousands of students across the state who wanted a single test. The Railways announced on Wednesday it had cancelled the test process.

The results for CBT-I for Group-D jobs was released on January 14, shortlisting candidates for CBT-II. The protesters had claimed that this criterion for recruitment was clarified in the initial RRB notice inviting applicants.

They said the notice had spoken of only one exam.

In a joint statement issued on Thursday, the RJD, Congress, CPI and CPI(M) said, “Bihar has the most 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.”

The agitating students had stopped trains like Rajendra Nagar-New Delhi Tejas Rajdhani express, the Sampoorna Kranti express, South Bihar Express and Mumbai-bound Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Express.

Protests were held in Patna, Bhagalpur and Sasaram, Gaya, Bhojpur, Buxar, Muzaffarpur and Samstipur districts, for nearly five hours on Tuesday and Wednesday. Patna district magistrate (DM) Dr Chandrashekhar Singh on Thursday met teachers of several coaching institutes and urged them not to instigate students.