'Height of cruelty': Priyanka slams police action against job seekers in Patna

New Delhi: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday slammed the BJP over the police action on job seekers in Patna, saying the ruling party's only vision is to save its chair and whoever demands employment is oppressed.

Chaos erupted during a protest in Patna on Wednesday over the alleged leak of a question paper of the December 13 combined preliminary exam conducted by the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC), prompting the state police to baton charge job aspirants.

Job seekers claimed that several protesters were injured during the police action but a senior officer denied the charge.

"Lathi charge on youths who had their hands folded is the height of cruelty. In BJP rule, youths demanding employment are beaten with sticks. Be it UP, Bihar or Madhya Pradesh - if youths raise their voice, they are brutally beaten," Priyanka Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on her WhatsApp channel.

"It is the government's job to think about the future of the youth of the world's youngest country and make policies for it. But the BJP only has the vision of saving its chair," she said.

Whoever demands employment is oppressed, the Congress MP added.

The Congress had condemned the police action on job aspirants, while Independent MP from Purnea Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav called for a Bihar bandh on January 1, 2025, if the December 13 combined preliminary examination is not cancelled.

The police registered a case against protestors in connection with Wednesday's incident. The protesters claimed that several job seekers were injured in the baton charge, which the police denied.

Video clips of the police action against job aspirants went viral on social media with some showing personnel chasing and beating up protesters, including women.

PTI could not verify the authenticity of the video clips.

Protesters were seen raising slogans against the BPSC officials and demanding the cancellation of the December 13 combined preliminary exam.

The job aspirants have been demanding the cancellation of the preliminary examination of the BPSC and have requested the commission to announce a fresh date for the test at the earliest.