The 11-day MPSC protest in Pune has been suspended after the Maharashtra government announced an inquiry into alleged examination irregularities and sent Maharashtra Public Service Commission chairman Vivek Bhimanwar on leave. Students, however, said their central demand for his resignation remains unresolved and that dissatisfaction with the commission’s functioning continues.
The agitation began on October 1 near the S.M. Joshi Bridge in Pune over alleged paper leaks, uncertainty in the recruitment process and demands for greater transparency in the commission’s administration. On the 11th day, the government announced an inquiry committee and decided to send Bhimanwar on compulsory leave, following which the students suspended the protest.
The students said the decision to send the chairman on leave could not be treated as equivalent to his resignation. Their representatives said the protest had been organised primarily to seek the chairman’s resignation, rather than only to secure an inquiry into alleged irregularities.
The developments followed a meeting between a student delegation and the chief minister on September 30. According to the students, all demands except the chairman’s resignation were accepted during that discussion. They questioned why they had spent 11 days protesting for measures that had already been agreed to, and said the status of their principal demand remained unclear.
Rishikesh Gangarde, who raised the alleged paper-leak issue, said students had continued the agitation despite criminal cases being registered against him. He said the original resignation demand had been set aside and that the student movement would continue in a more organised manner. He also called for an independent and capable organisation led by students to represent their interests.
Competitive-examination mentor Kiran Nimbhore said the inquiry committee was a positive step but argued that the process should not remain limited to paperwork. He said responsibility should be fixed if wrongdoing was established and that candidates needed assurance that similar irregularities would not recur. He added that the demand was not limited to removing one individual but also involved restoring confidence in the commission’s functioning.
Candidate Manoj Patil said student dissatisfaction remained despite the suspension of the protest. He said the unresolved question was what would happen to the demand for the chairman’s resignation, which students regarded as the principal purpose of their agitation.
The next institutional test will be the inquiry into the alleged examination irregularities and the action taken after its findings. The supplied report does not specify the committee’s membership, its deadline or whether the government has taken a final decision on the chairman’s position.
