Protesters on roads in Bihar, as anomalies in RRB NTPC results

After opposition parties announced a bandh over-claimed "irregularities" in the Railway Recruitment Board exam, protesters stopped roads in Patna, Bihar's capital, and other parts of the state today. The Bihar bandh has been called by a number of student organizations, including the All-India Students Association, or AISA. On the day the country celebrated Republic Day, a passenger train was set on fire and another was pelted with stones in Bihar during violent protests by students protesting the railway jobs exam.

The protests were in response to the Railway Recruitment Board's (RRB-NTPC) Non-Technical Popular Categories (RRB-NTPC) exam scheduled for 2021. Students have objected to the railroads' decision to split the exam into two parts, alleging that the second round is unfair to those who passed the first stage, the results of which were revealed on January 15.

Over 35,000 positions from level 2 to level 6 were advertised, with starting pay ranging from 19,900 to 35,400 per month. Over 1.25 crore individuals applied for the tests, which had advertised over 35,000 positions from level 2 to level 6, with starting pay ranging from 19,900 to 35,400 per month. The exam had a total of 60 lakh candidates.

The opposition parties - Rashtriya Janata Dal, Congress, Communist Party of India, or CPI, and Communist Party of India (Marxist) - issued an united statement on Thursday saying, "Bihar has the most number of young people in the country and has the highest unemployment rate. Students are being cheated by the central as well as Bihar governments."

They also said, "It keeps promising jobs for them but when they come out on the streets demanding jobs, the Nitish Kumar government rains baton on them."

According to reports, AISA General Secretary and MLA Sandeep Saurav said a committee created by the Railway Ministry to investigate suspected anomalies in the exam is a "plot" to delay the subject until the Uttar Pradesh elections are done.

Former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, who leads the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) faction of the National Democratic Alliance, has backed the students who are protesting.

Mr. Manjhi said, "Police cases against teachers like Khan Sir could further provoke students for undeclared agitations in Bihar. The time has come for the governments to talk on unemployment and come out with a solution," 

Khan Sir, a Patna instructor, recently said that the Railway Ministry burdened individuals who had already passed their first exam with further exams. Following this remark, he and 15 other teachers from Patna coaching institutes were charged with inciting students to demonstrate.