Students Break Police Barricades In Prayagraj As UPPSC Protests Enter Day 4 | Watch – News18

Last Updated:November 14, 2024, 4:14 PM IST

The situation escalated after the officials installed roadblocks along the route to the UPPSC office to manage the crowd

The student protests against the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission entered their fourth day on Thursday. As the situation remained tense, the protestors marched towards the UPPSC headquarters in Prayagraj and broke the barricades installed, breaching the security to reach the commission’s office.

The situation escalated after the officials installed roadblocks along the route to the UPPSC office to manage the crowd. The clash between the UPPSC aspirants and the police intensified after the protesting students alleged that the authorities used force to disperse the crowd. Reportedly, several students are injured in the incident.

Why Are Students Protesting?

The students’ protest came against the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission’s (UPPSC) decision to split the PCS Pre and RO-ARO examinations into two days.

The commission’s Review Officer and Assistant Review Officer Preliminary Examinations are scheduled for December 22 and 23. Similarly, the Provincial Civil Service Preliminary Examination is set for December 7 and 8. However, the students are demanding that the exams should be conducted on a single day.

The students are also frustrated over the UPPSC’s failure to conduct examinations on scheduled time for the past two years. Earlier this year, in January 2024, the commission issued a notification for the Uttar Pradesh Civil Services exam, which was originally scheduled for March but was postponed to October.

Similarly, the Review Officer and Assistant Review Officer exams were planned for February, however, they were cancelled due to a paper leak. Both exams, rescheduled for October, were later announced for December further angering the candidates,

Opposition Attacks UP Govt

Launching a scathing attack on the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government, Congress leader and Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi said that the state government’s attitude towards the students is “extremely insensitive” and “unfortunate”.

“The attitude of the UP government and Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission towards the competitive students in Prayagraj is extremely insensitive and unfortunate. Non-transparent system in the name of normalisation is unacceptable and the students’ demand for examination in one shift is absolutely justified,” the Congress leader said in a post on X in Hindi.

“Why should students pay the price for the incompetence of the BJP government which is busy destroying the education system? Students who were ‘studying’ have been forced to ‘fight’ on the streets and are now being harassed by the police, ” Rahul said, adding, “We will not accept this injustice against the youth who are staying away from home and studying to fulfill their and their families’ dreams. We fully support the demands of competitive students. Their democratic rights cannot be suppressed by dictatorship.”

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav decoded the number game that the BJP might face in the next election in Uttar Pradesh and suggested the saffron camp to do the maths. He further stated that by understanding this mathematics, the heartless BJP government might stop the atrocities and fulfill the democratic legitimate demands of the protesting youth.

“If BJP only understands the maths of elections, then it should know that if other competitive students like PCS/RO/ARO/LOWER SUBORDINATE and their family members are included, then this number is almost 1 crore. If we divide this ‘great number’ by about 400 assembly seats, then BJP will lose about 25000 votes in every assembly seat, meaning BJP will be reduced to double digits,” Yadav said.

Thousands of students have gathered on the streets to protest against the UPPSC, demanding changes to the examination schedule.

Location :

Prayagraj, India