Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. File | Photo Credit: ANI
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday (Dec 26, 2024) criticized the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the police crackdown on job seekers in Patna, saying the ruling party’s only philosophy is to save its seat and whoever seeks employment is oppressed.
Chaos erupted during protests in Patna on Wednesday (December 25, 2024) over the alleged leakage of question papers of the December 13 joint preliminary examination conducted by the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC), prompting the state police to lathi-charge job aspirants. .
Job seekers claimed that several protesters were injured in police action, but a senior official denied the allegations.
“Lathi charge on youths with folded hands is the height of brutality. Youths who ask for jobs under BJP rule are beaten with lathis. Be it Uttar Pradesh, Bihar or Madhya Pradesh – youths who raise their voice 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 a philosophy to save its seat,” she said. Those who demand employment are harassed, the Congress MP said.
The Congress condemned the police crackdown on job seekers, while independent Purna MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav called for a Bihar bandh on January 1, 2025, if the December 13 joint preliminary examination is not cancelled.
On Wednesday (December 25, 2024), the police registered a case against the protesters in connection with the incident. The protesters claimed that several job seekers were injured in the lathi charge, which the police denied.
Video clips of police cracking down on job candidates have gone viral on social media, with some employees chasing and beating protesters, including women. PTI Could not verify the authenticity of the video clips.
The protesters were raising slogans against the BPSC officials and demanding the cancellation of the December 13 joint preliminary examination. The job aspirants have demanded cancellation of the BPSC preliminary examination and requested the commission to announce the new date of the examination soon.
published – Dec 26, 2024 01:13 pm IST