Bihar on edge after violent protests over teaching jobs: What went wrong?

Patna saw violent clashes on Monday with aspiring teachers going up against the police. In videos, which have since gone viral on social media, the cops can be seen thrashing protesters and using water cannons against them.

One of the videos from the protests that have got a lot of attention shows an official brutally beating a young protester holding a Tricolour. While the protestor held up the national flag and attempted to use his hands to deflect the blows, they continued to rain down on him.

These protests come shortly after the newly-formed government in Bihar led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav assured to provide lakhs of jobs to the people of Bihar.

Why did Patna see violent protests on Monday? We take a closer look.

Protests on Monday

Hundreds of Bihar Teacher Eligibility Test (BTET) and Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) candidates took to the streets on Monday around 10 am at the crucial Dak Bungalow intersection in the city.

Their grouse: the persistent delays in issuing of the official notification for appointments.

Taking to the streets, the candidates said that they have remained unemployed despite the education ministry announcing that the notification would be issued latest by 7 August.

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They allege that at least 50,000 of the 90,000 teacher posts remained vacant in the state.

The demonstrators said that they have been protesting their unemployment for the past three years and in 2021, they were promised that the notification, which is crucial for their jobs, would be issued in January.

However, the government did not keep up to its promise and in May the candidates had demonstrated on the streets only to be assured that the process would be completed by August.

The teachers’ union leading the protests added that this time the demonstration will not be rolled back until their demands were met.

What unfolded at the protests?

As the protests began from the Dak Bungalow intersection, the police reached the spot and began lathi-charging the protesters. The ensuing melee caused a massive traffic jam on Fraser Road, Exhibition Road and in the nearby areas of the city.

#Patna | Police lathi charge aspiring teachers during a protest

A CTET-BTET candidate is being brutally beaten up by Patna ADM KK Singh.

The job aspirants were protesting against the Bihar Government at Dak Bungalow Chowraha in Patna. https://t.co/hawlBvBp0C#Patna

— ᴀᴅɪᴛʏᴀ ʀᴀᴛʜᴏʀᴇ ♔ (@Bihar169_) August 22, 2022

The protesters could be heard raising slogans like ‘Bahana nahin bahali chahiye’ even as the police dragged some of the protesters and thrashed them with batons.

As per a Times of India report, the man in the video gone viral was identified as Anisur Rahman of Darbhanga and he was rushed to PMCH’s emergency after he sustained a head injury.

Politicos speak

Responding to the protests, Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav said, “The BJP has wasted two years but now we are working. Please don’t panic and have patience.”

The deputy chief minister has also called for an inquiry into the matter of the official thrashing the candidate. He assured the media that stern action would be taken against the officials, if found guilty.

State Congress spokesman Asit Nath Tiwari, whose party is an ally of the ruling coalition, issued a strongly worded statement condemning the episode.

“The official is KK Singh, an additional district magistrate with a reputation of high-handedness. During the COVID-19 epidemic, he had commanded citizens to produce videos of themselves beating utensils failing which their applications will not be considered,” Tiwari alleged.

“We could have understood had the youngster been involved in stone-pelting or any type of physical violence himself. But beating up of a tricolour-wielding young man who posed no menace is unacceptable and the official concerned must be punished,” Tiwari demanded.

The BJP slammed the Nitish Kumar-Tejashwi Yadav government in the state and said the violence perpetrated by the official was the true nature of the Janata Dal (United)-Rashtriya Janata Dal.

Meanwhile, Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been imposed in areas of Patna. The prohibitory order, which prevents unlawful assembly armed with deadly weapons, has been imposed in Gandhi Maidan, JP Golambar and the Dak bungalow roundabout.

With inputs from agencies

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