MPSC Chairman to hold meeting regarding students’ demands in Mumbai on Thursday

Students protesting on Shastri Road demand the inclusion of 258 agriculture posts in the MPSC exam and its postponement due to a clash with the IBPS exam on August 25.

Students preparing for competitive examinations have started a protest at Shastri Road since Tuesday night to demand the inclusion of 258 posts of the agriculture department in the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) examination to be held on August 25. The protesting students have also demanded that the MPSC examination be postponed. Taking note of the students’ demands, deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has informed through a post on ‘X’ that the chairman of the MPSC will hold a meeting regarding the students’ demands in Mumbai on Thursday and take a positive decision.

The state government has taken note of the students’ demands. (HT PHOTO)

Meanwhile, students are adamant that the MPSC exam on August 25 be postponed. As the MPSC and Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) exams are scheduled on the same day, the students have demanded that the MPSC exam be postponed so that those interested can appear for both exams.

The state government has taken note of the students’ demands. Deputy chief minister Fadnavis has requested the chairman of the MPSC to take a positive decision in respect of the students’ demands.

Fadnavis said, “Both the IBPS exam and MPSC state services combined pre-examination are being held on the same day on August 25. Also, 258 seats of the agriculture department are not included in the state services pre-exam. Due to both these reasons, there is dissatisfaction among the students. Therefore, I have requested the chairman of the MPSC to take a positive decision in this regard. He has assured me that a meeting will be held this afternoon and it will definitely be considered.”

Akshay Jain, president, Maharashtra Pradesh Youth Congress, said, “The government is playing with the emotions of students. Despite deputy chief minister Fadnavis announcing a meeting at 3 pm on Wednesday, neither the MPSC nor government provided any clear information afterward. It seems that the MPSC is more focused on playing Twitter games than addressing serious concerns of students. The patience of students should not be tested any further. If this continues, the government will undoubtedly face the consequences in the upcoming elections.”

A protesting student Malhar Bhalerao said, “The government’s policy is to deliberately create confusion everywhere, eroding people’s trust in the government system. Then, through systems like lateral entry, they aim to include people aligned with their ideology. This is the corrupt agenda of this government.”