Pune: The ongoing MPSC students’ agitation entered a more complicated phase on Sunday as three separate groups began protests at different locations, even as NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar stepped in to seek dialogue between protesting students and state govt.Pawar on Sunday spoke to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on a call, urging urged him to address the students’ concerns.The protests, supported by MLA Rohit Pawar at SM Joshi Bridge, also spread to Shastri Road and Alka Talkies-Tilak Chowk, with students divided over whether MPSC exams should remain objective or shift to the descriptive format.Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijit Dipke also joined the agitation late in the evening, while netas of various political parties gave speeches at all three locations in support of the agitation.The latest round of the protest, which began on Oct 2, remains centred on allegations of irregularities in MPSC examinations, paper leaks, delays in recruitment and the demand for the resignation of MPSC chairperson Vivek Bhimanwar. While the renewed protests completed their third day on Sunday, students pointed out that govt had yet to take a concrete decision on their demands.Addressing the students at the protest site, Dipke alluded to ongoing student rallies in the national capital, and said: “Let us fight both battles together. Maharashtra has that strength, and we have that strength in our Marathi blood. We can take care of Maharashtra as well as Delhi, and we will take both wickets together, ‘Gyanu’ there and Bhimanwar here. Then we will celebrate together.” He was referring to protests for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of Election Commission (ECI), amid the ongoing controversy over Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls .Sharad Pawar contacts CMA delegation of protesting students had met Pawar at his residence in Shivajinagar earlier in the day. Pawar held a detailed discussion with the students and subsequently contacted CM Fadnavis, urging him to intervene. The senior politician said dialogue between govt and student representatives is necessary to resolve the issue.“Some student representatives came to meet me. A way must be found to resolve their agitation and demands. There should be dialogue. On one side, the CM or his colleagues and, on the other, some student representatives should hold discussions. If there is no dialogue, problems will not be resolved,” Pawar said.He added, “There is a clear sense of unease among students in Pune, Mumbai and some other parts of the state. They have taken up a struggle and launched an agitation over their demands. Keeping this unrest in mind, state govt and the institutions concerned need to assess the situation and take steps to find a way forward.”Pawar also said that the student representatives had explained their concerns and demands to him, adding that all steps should be taken with their consent.He confirmed that he had personally called Fadnavis to convey the students’ concerns and urged him to immediately look into the issue once he returns to Mumbai from Nagpur.On the same issue, MP Murlidhar Mohol on Sunday that state govt is taking a positive stance on demands of MPSC aspirants. He said he personally contacted student representatives protesting at various sites across the city, including SM Joshi Bridge, Alka Chowk, and Shastri Road, urging them to end the protest.Three locations, three protestsWhile govt faces pressure to open talks, the agitation itself has branched out, with three groups taking different positions on the examination pattern.The first protest began on Thursday evening near SM Joshi Bridge adjoining Garware College under the leadership of Rohit Pawar. The group is demanding the immediate resignation of Bhimanwar and wants upcoming MPSC exams to be conducted in the objective format.A second group began its protest on Shastri Road on Friday. Its principal demand is that MPSC exams should continue to be conducted only through the objective format.The third group emerged on Saturday at Alka Talkies-Tilak Chowk, taking a directly opposite position. The students there are demanding that the commission adopt the descriptive examination format and reject the objective pattern.The emergence of the three groups has added another layer to the ongoing agitation, with differences over the exam system now becoming as prominent as the original demands concerning recruitment and alleged irregularities.Political activity around the protests also intensified on Saturday. Functionaries of various political parties, including CJP’s Dipke, visited the different protest sites and extended support to the students, adding to political pressure on state govt.The protests continued at all three locations late into the night. The developments have left the administration facing a more difficult situation, as it now has to address both wider grievances against MPSC and sharply differing positions among sections of students.For students leading the original agitation, however, the central demands remain unchanged — accountability over the functioning of the commission, action over alleged examination-related irregularities, resolution of pending recruitment issues and a decision on the MPSC chairperson’s resignation.With Pawar now directly seeking Fadnavis’s intervention and more political leaders expected to join the agitation, the next round of talks between govt and student representatives is expected to prove crucial.
