Teachers lathicharged during Patna protest against Nitish Kumar govt, 7 hospitalised

A large number of teachers still managed to cross the police barriers to reach Dak Bungalow Chowk, prompting police to start a second round of lathi charge in which seven teachers were injured and hospitalised.

“The demonstration was staged without any permission from the administration. We are trying to explain to the protesters that what they are doing is illegal. Use of force has been a last resort,” Deputy Superintendent of Police, Law and Order, Patna, Nurul Haq, told reporters.

Asked about the number of people who have been taken into custody, the Deputy SP said, “At present, we are not in a position to give the figures. We will work it out and let details be known once we are through with maintaining order in the affected area.”

At the protest site, the anger was palpable. “We are educated people holding a peaceful demonstration over our legitimate concerns. Yet they are using force and arresting us as if we were criminals”, said Puja Singh, a job aspirant who had come from Begusarai district. Bihar Teachers Eligibility Test (BTET) Association president Amit Vikram told The Indian Express: “There was no immediate provocation for the government to remove the domicile clause in the middle of the appointment process. The government wants the process to be delayed as it does not intend to appoint teachers.”

BJP Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Kumar Modi said: “I wonder why the state government has changed the rules midway through the process. It only wants to delay. So far, nine changes have been made. Now that the domicile clause has been removed, the government will have to invite applications afresh.”

The BJP has announced that it will hold a ‘Vidhan Sabha’ march on July 13, the penultimate day of the assembly’s monsoon session commencing on July 10, in support of the demand of aspirants for teachers’ jobs.

The state cabinet had on June 27 removed the condition that only those with Bihar domicile can apply for the post of 1.7 lakh teachers for classes 1 to class 12 – with the exception of classes 6 to 8.

The situation was exacerbated with the state’s education minister Chandra Shekhar giving a statement that the policy was brought in view of a dearth of talent within the state.

– With PTI inputs