Prayagraj: Police lathi-charge students, Akhilesh slams 'anti-youth' agenda

Tensions flared outside the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) office in Prayagraj (Allahabad) as thousands of students staged a protest demanding that the Provincial Civil Services (PCS) and Review Officer/Assistant Review Officer (RO/ARO) exams be held on the same day. The students said holding these exams on separate dates causes unnecessary confusion and logistical inconvenience.

In response, the UP police resorted to a lathi charge to disperse the crowd. Samajwadi Party (SP) president and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav sharply criticised the police action, condemning the lathi charge, especially the use of force against women.

Taking to social media, Yadav posted on X, “Today’s youth say, we don’t want the BJP!” He went on to call the BJP government “anti-youth”, adding, “The BJP’s brutal lathi charge on female students is reprehensible. When students merely raised concerns over the unfair practices in UPPSC, the corrupt BJP government responded with violence. Jobs are clearly not on BJP's agenda. We stand with the youth.”

The protests stem from the UPPSC’s recent decision to conduct the PCS-2024 preliminary exam on 7-8 December and the RO-ARO 2024 preliminary exam on 22-23 December, instead of holding them on a single day as students had expected.

This decision comes on the heels of a scandal involving a leaked RO/ARO 2023 exam paper, which forced the cancellation of that test and has further shaken students’ faith in the examination process.

Prashant Pandey, media in-charge of the Competitive Students Struggle Committee, explained that the exams were initially scheduled for a single day under the original recruitment notification.

However, the UPPSC’s decision to change the format and implement a normalisation process has sparked widespread dissatisfaction among students, who feel the revised structure undermines fairness and transparency.

The protests led to significant disruption around the UPPSC office, with police, Provincial Armed Constabulary and Rapid Action Force personnel deployed to control the swelling crowds. Students broke through police barricades, blocking roads and halting traffic in the vicinity.

As the standoff continues, the issue has become a flashpoint between the students and the state's BJP government. Protesters are calling for an alignment of exam schedules and a commitment to addressing transparency and fairness concerns in the recruitment process.