Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor is set to begin an indefinite hunger strike today, demanding that the Bihar government address the concerns of Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) aspirants.

The move comes amid growing unrest among candidates protesting alleged irregularities in the 70th BPSC Preliminary Examination held on December 13.

Kishor had earlier issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the Bihar government, urging them to heed the demands of the protesting students, who have called for the cancellation and reconducting of the exam. With no resolution in sight, Kishor announced plans for a sit-in protest beginning January 2.

Expressing solidarity with the students, Kishor told the media, “If injustice is done to the students, we will stand with them with full strength.”

The controversy revolves around allegations that the examination questions were of substandard quality, comparable to police recruitment exams, and closely resembled model papers provided by coaching institutes. The examination was conducted to fill 2,031 vacancies, including 200 Sub-Divisional Magistrates (SDMs) and 136 Deputy Superintendents of Police (DSPs), making it one of the most significant recruitment drives in recent years.

Adding to the tension, police registered an FIR against 700 individuals, including Kishor, following protests at Gandhi Maidan in Patna on Sunday. The protest escalated into a lathi-charge incident, prompting Raj Bhavan to summon the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) and the District Magistrate (DM) for an explanation.

On Monday, BPSC Chairman Ravi Manu Bhai Parmar met Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar to discuss the issue but clarified that the examination would neither be cancelled nor reconducted.

(Inputs from IANS)