Prashant Kishor begins fast unto death amid demand for BPSC exam cancellation

Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor on Thursday said that he will launch an indefinite hunger strike over the demand for cancellation of Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) examination.

The former political strategist announced that he is commencing fast unto death, days after claiming that "thousands of crores of rupees have changed hands" for posts to be filled up by the Bihar PSC exam. The Combined Competitive Exams were held on December 13 last year.

"My demands include cancellation of the exam and holding of fresh tests. I also seek action against corrupt officials who had allegedly put posts, to be filled by the exams, on sale," Kishor told reporters.

He had earlier warned that he would sit on an indefinite strike from January 2 until the demands of the students are met.

On Monday, following a meeting between a group of protesters and Chief Secretary Amrit Lal Meena, Kishor said that he would wait for "48 hours" before escalating the protest if the Nitish Kumar government failed to take action regarding the alleged paper leak.

Thousands of students across the state launched protests seeking the cancellation of the Preliminary Examination conducted by the BPSC over allegations of question paper leak.

The former close aide of Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar expressed dismay over refusal of his ex-mentor to "utter a single word" on the stir which has been going on for nearly two weeks.

In a stinging attack on Nitish, Kishor had earlier drawn attention to the candidates who were braving biting cold conditions, baton charge and water canon while the chief minister was "having a good time" in Delhi.

"He did not utter a single word when reporters in the national capital approached him with queries on the stir," Kishor had said.

The protesters' contend that re-examination for a small section of candidates would militate against the principle of a level-playing field and are demanding that the entire exam should be cancelled and held afresh.