Bihar: Indian Youth Congress protest turns violent, arrests made

Patna (Bihar) [India], July 24 (ANI): A few workers of the Indian Youth Congress were arrested after a protest against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar outside the Bihar Legislative Council on Wednesday turned violent. The workers attacked the police with sticks and PVC pipes, according to SDM Patna.

Indian Youth Congress workers protested against CM Nitish Kumar over various issues, including the NEET paper leak.

SDM Patna, Shrikant Khandekar, said, "The procession was taken out without permission. This area is very crowded and has many schools. Despite this, we tried to handle the situation carefully. However, they broke the barricades and attacked the police with lathis, injuring some personnel. We had to use force, and we have arrested a few people."Earlier, the Bihar Assembly passed the Anti-Paper Leak Bill with a voice vote on Wednesday, amid a walkout by the opposition.

The Bihar Assembly passed the Bihar Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024 on Wednesday. This legislation, introduced by State Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, aims to combat malpractices in government recruitment exams and was passed with a voice vote amid a walkout by the opposition.

The bill proposes penalties for those involved in malpractices, including a minimum prison sentence of 10 years and a fine of at least Rs 1 crore.

While speaking with reporters, Chaudhary said, "We have stated in the House that there is a need to make a strict law against malpractice or use of unfair means in examinations. You all know that right now, the issue of NEET is ongoing, which reached the Supreme Court. It is true that today there is a need to restore transparency and credibility in public examinations. Those who use unfair means play with the future of the intelligent, hardworking students of our state. You must have seen that in this bill, strict rules have been made against those who commit such irregularities."He added, "If any agencies are involved in malpractices, it proposes 10 years of imprisonment and a minimum fine of Rs 1 crore for the criminals. That is why this strict law has been made, and we hope that the future of bright and hardworking students of Bihar will be secure."The bill comes after alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG examination conducted by the National Testing Agency.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to cancel the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) 2024 examination held on May 5, holding that there was no systemic breach in the exam. (ANI)