Nitish government under fire from Chirag, Tejashwi over alleged BPSC paper leak

Patna: The Nitish Kumar government in Bihar on Saturday found itself under pressure, from adversaries and allies alike, to order a probe into allegations of question paper leak in an examination conducted by the state public service commission.

The NDA government was also buffeted over the behaviour of an IAS officer, who had on Friday slapped a protester at one of the examination centres in the state capital.

Union minister Chirag Paswan, an NDA partner whose Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), incidentally, does not have a representation in the state government, deplored the incident involving Patna District Magistrate Chandrashekhar Singh.

"It is wrong. My party can never condone such an act", was the stern reply of Paswan when journalists approached him with queries in Aurangabad district, about the episode.

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, also the leader of the opposition in state assembly, said in a press conference, "The state seems to be without a government worth the name. Students are slapped and beaten with sticks. But not a word comes from the chief minister's mouth." Notably, the BPSC has been denying any irregularities in the exams, in which close to five lakh candidates had appeared at more than 900 centres.

The controversy arose when some candidates, at the Bapu Pariksha Parisar in Patna, alleged that packets containing question papers had been unsealed long before being brought to examination halls.

BPSC chairman Parmar Ravi Manubhai was of the view that "rumours" had been spread as part of a "conspiracy" and warned "police action" against those who were involved.

Hundreds of candidates at the exam centre had boycotted the tests and stood waving what they claimed to be "leaked question papers". The situation was brought under control after some of the unruly protesters were rounded up by police.

The Patna DM had also reached the spot and a video of him has gone viral in which the bureaucrat can be seen landing a slap on one of the protesters. The behaviour of the senior civil servant has sparked a social media outrage.

Tejashwi Yadav, who spoke to journalists in Darbhanga, said, "We strongly condemn the incident. We also expect a statement from Nitish Kumar who seems out of depth. He has nothing to say on such a serious matter. On the other hand, he has no qualms about splurging more than Rs 225 crore on his proposed public outreach programme Mahila Samvad Yatra."

Meanwhile, Paswan, who was asked about the incident in Aurangabad, said, "We condemn the act of Patna DM and the use of force against students. If there is even an iota of doubt in the minds of the youngsters about the fairness of exams, it should be investigated."

"The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) brooks no compromise on the issue of future of the state's youth," added the Union minister, who had, earlier also, been a strident critic of the JD(U) supremo.