Bihar Bandh: Protest over Railways jobs; Opposition parties extend support

All India Students’ Union along with other youth organisations have called for ‘Bihar Bandh’ on Friday to protest the alleged irregularities in Railway Recruitment Board's (RRB’s) NTPC stage 1 exam results. 

The AISA and other youth organisations said in a press statement that the committee formed by the ministry is a "conspiracy" to postpone the matter till the elections in Uttar Pradesh. The ministry had constituted a committee to listen to the views of candidates who cleared or failed the exam which will submit its report to the ministry.

Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has urged the protesters not to destroy public property and assured them to redress grievances. 

Protesters have refused to bog down despite the assurance from the government, saying that this a massive movement of student youth, who are facing extreme unemployment.

Opposition parties have extended their support for the Bihar Bandh, including the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Congress, CPI and CPI(M) and Jan Adhikar Party. The opposition parties have demanded that all FIRs registered against protesting students be withdrawn immediately.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday extended his support to the protesters, saying he is with them against the policies of the BJP government. He, however, said that violence is not the way.

In addition, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati said that the uproar in UP and Bihar during the first UPTET and RRB-NTPC results of railway exam proved BJP government is a failure. 

Four bogies of a train were set on fire by the protesters in Bihar’s Gaya. During the protest on Wednesday, the job aspirants blocked the New Delhi-Kolkata main railway tracks. The agitations also spilled over to border areas in eastern Uttar Pradesh. The Bihar Police said that railway properties were damaged in Gaya, Jehanabad, Bhagalpur, Sasaram, Samastipur and Chhapra districts.