Brutal Lathi Charge on Students-Youth Demanding Jobs
Students and youth were brutally lathi charged in Patna on 1 March 2021 during their protest for education and employment. Many youths including MLAs Sandeep Saurabh, Manoj Manzil and Ajit Kushwaha were injured in the lathi charge. On 2 March this issue was raised strongly inside as well as outside the Bihar Assembly.
It is also a bizarre coincidence that the Chief Minister who was celebrating his birthday on the same day came to political power through the JP movement in 1974. That movement gave many leaders to Bihar and other States who are in seats of power today. In those days rallies used to start from the University area and culminate at the Vidhan Sabha gate. Later, the barricades were placed at R Block Chowk and Hartali More. Amidst Nitish Kumar's birthday celebrations students and youth were brutally lathi charged and tear gas shells and water-canons were unleashed on them. Even MLAs were not spared. A dozen students and youth are seriously injured and admitted in PMCH and Gardiner Hospital. Their simple demand was that they should be allowed to march peacefully to Dak Bangla, but the lathi-and-bullet government was not prepared to listen to them and attacked them instead. Young people in Bihar are angry that the government is going back on its electoral promise of 19 lakh jobs, and is unleashing every kind of repression to crush voices of protest.
CPIML Bihar State Secretary Kunal and Legislative Party leader Mahboob Alam have strongly condemned the brutal police repression on the Vidhan Sabha march organized by AISA-RYA against the BJP-JDU government which is backing away from its electoral promise of 19 lakh jobs. They said that the Nitish government's character has turned out to be that of a repressive government. He is imposing tyranny exactly on the lines of Modi government.
The protest on 1 March was for education and employment. The government should have called a student-youth delegation and held talks with them, but instead the protesting youth were subjected to tear gas, water canons and brutal lathi charge. The march, which started from Gandhi Maidan, was not allowed to proceed beyond JP Chowk by the administration. Many youths have suffered cracked skulls as a result of the police attack and dozens are seriously injured and admitted in PMCH.
The administration lathi charged even the CPIML MLAs who led the protest and this is a matter of great shame. CPIML MLAs Sandeep Saurav, Ajit Kushwaha, Manoj Manzil, Mahanand Singh, Gopal Ravidas and Rambali Singh Yadav had come in support of the march.
Later, MLA Virendra Prasad Gupta went to PMCH, met the injured youths and called on them to continue the struggle.
The youth of Bihar raised following demands through this march which was a culmination of a fortnight long statewide campaign -
- During the election NDA had promised 19 lakh jobs but no concrete steps have been taken so far. We demand that the government should provide jobs to 19 lakh youths within a time-bound period.
- Pass a resolution in the Assembly against selling off Railways and all other government companies and PSUs.
- Appoint 94,000 BTET/CTET without delay. Fill 4 lakh vacant teacher posts immediately.
- Declare STET-2011 results immediately.
- Complete appointment process in 6th phase of STET-2011.
- Pass a resolution in the Assembly for repeal of 3 black farm laws.
- Judicial enquiry into irregularities in appointments, paper leaks and other scams. Fix time-bound period for appointment process.
- Regularization of school teachers, ASHA-Anganwadi workers, Rasoiyas, Talimi Makraz, Tola Sewak and other contractual workers.
- Make all job application forms free of cost.
- End loot in MNREGA and guarantee 200 days' work and Rs 500 daily wage. Implement Urban Employment Guarantee scheme.
- Restart all closed factories in Bihar. Open new factories and guarantee jobs with dignity for unemployed youth.
- Dignified minimum wage and social security for youth working in unorganized sector.
- Reopen all schools, colleges, universities, libraries and hostels immediately. Stop forcibly imposing online education.
- Provide basic infrastructure and facilities in educational institutions from primary schools to colleges and universities, and fill all vacant posts of teachers and working staff.
- Start law courses in all Districts.
- Open degree colleges in all Block HQs.
- Revoke hiked fees in B.Ed and other colleges. Open new B.Ed colleges.
- Pass a resolution in the Assembly to revoke the New Education Policy 2020 that pushes common students out of education.
- Fill vacant posts of doctors, nurses and health workers in health centres and hospitals. Increase per capita annual medical expenditure in the state.
- Stop exploitation by private hospitals and ensure comprehensive treatment in government hospitals.
- Stop evicting footpath shopkeepers, fruit and vegetable sellers and vendors in municipal corporation areas. Guarantee arrangement of proper places for all.
- Guarantee fellowships for all research scholars.
- Reinstate all statistics volunteers.
- Regularization of all physical education teachers.
- Rs 50,000 per month and regularization of guest teachers in schools/colleges.
- Bring out a white paper on how many people got jobs in the last 15 years and how many posts are vacant.
- Rs 10,000 unemployment allowance for all unemployed youth.
- Height requirement for Bihar Women Police appointment 150 cm.
- Regular appointments in Engineer posts lying vacant in Bihar.
- Release OMR, carbon copies and cut-offs for all competitive exams immediately after the exam.
- Appoint candidates from Executive Assistants panel made by BPSM in 2018.
- Revoke the autocratic diktat banning from government jobs students-youth who participate in protests.
