MPSC Protests Pune: Rahul Gandhi Backs Students’ Satyagraha
Pune: The agitation by Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) aspirants has widened significantly. What began as a single sit-in has now grown into a multi-location protest, with three separate groups of students holding simultaneous demonstrations across Pune on Saturday.
Despite sharing a common core demand — the resignation of MPSC Chairman Vivek Bhimanwar — each group has its own specific grievances, reflecting both the depth of student dissatisfaction and the differences in what they want changed.
The MPSC Protests Pune demonstrations have drawn support from opposition leaders across party lines.
MPSC Protests Pune: The Three Protest Sites
(Representative Image / AI Generated)
The most visible of the three protests is at S M Joshi Bridge near Patrakar Bhavan. Now in its third day, this demonstration has drawn support from NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar.
Students here are focused on one demand: the removal of the MPSC chairman. They want a new head with a clean image — someone who understands the concerns of aspirants and can restore faith in the examination process.
Heavy police deployment has turned the area into a security zone, and the bridge remains closed to traffic.
2. Ahilya Library, Lal Bahadur Shastri Road
A second group, led by student representative Nitin Andhale, is protesting at Ahilya Library. This section has a different set of demands:
- A return to the earlier objective pattern for the Rajyaseva examination
- The Group C 2026 examination to be conducted offline with at least 30,000 vacancies
- An independent inquiry into examinations conducted during the tenure of certain officers
3. Alka Chowk
The third protest, which began on Saturday, is at Alka Chowk. Students here are opposing any move to scrap the descriptive pattern for the MPSC Main Examination.
Many say they have spent more than two years preparing according to the current descriptive format. A sudden switch, they argue, would force them to restart their entire preparation from scratch.
Rahul Gandhi Backs the Movement
The protests gained fresh momentum after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi publicly endorsed the students’ satyagraha.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Gandhi said that during the ‘Echo of Students’ event in Pune, students from Maharashtra had laid out their problems before him — including paper leaks, stalled recruitments, expensive education, dilapidated hostels, poor food quality, and alleged fraud in the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system.
He stated that he had urged Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to reform the MPSC and make the examination system transparent, but claimed no concrete action had followed.
Gandhi listed the students’ two main demands:
- The MPSC Chairman should resign, and an honest, qualified officer should take his place
- 70,000+ vacant government positions should be filled immediately
“These demands are not unjust. Action is needed on them — not assurances,” Gandhi wrote.
He also said that Youth Congress and NSUI have been instructed to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the students until their demands are met.
Political Support at Protest Sites
Opposition leaders have visited the protest locations to express solidarity.
At S M Joshi Bridge, MP Supriya Sule, MLA Rohit Pawar, Congress leader Vishwajeet Kadam, and farmer leader Ravikant Tupkar met the students. Sule went further than the students’ own demand, calling for the removal of the entire MPSC management body, not just the chairman.
At the Shastri Road protest, NCP leader Dhananjay Munde told students that the Chief Minister had assured that upcoming examinations would continue in the objective format. He added that a student delegation is expected to meet the Chief Minister in Mumbai early next week.
MPSC Protests Pune: What Led to This Point
The current wave of protests follows a meeting between a student delegation and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on September 30.
After that meeting, the government announced several measures:
- Immediate transfer of the MPSC secretary
- A judicial inquiry within three months into the functioning of former and current chairpersons and members under Article 317 of the Constitution
- Continuation of offline examinations
- Introduction of a single-card system for candidates
- A large-scale recruitment drive
Students were also told that vacancies for three years would be announced together, and that recruitment for posts falling vacant due to retirement would begin one year in advance.
Based on these assurances, the proposed October 2 satyagraha was temporarily suspended. But many aspirants felt the commitments did not go far enough — particularly on the demand for the chairman’s resignation — and the protests resumed.
The Deeper Roots of the Unrest
The current protests are not sudden. Aspirants have been raising concerns for months about:
- Alleged paper leaks
- Delays in results and recruitment
- Lack of transparency in the examination process
- Frequent changes in examination patterns
One of the major flashpoints was the alleged leak in the Drug Inspector screening examination held in March. The leak led to arrests and the cancellation of that recruitment process.
The MPSC also postponed several main examinations scheduled for early October after receiving representations from candidates and organisations.
Police Presence and Media Concerns
Police have maintained a heavy presence at all three protest locations.
At an earlier protest, journalists covering the agitation alleged that a reporter was assaulted. This led to a temporary media boycott of the protest until an FIR was registered.
MPSC Protests Pune: What Happens Next
As of Saturday evening, all three protests were continuing in parallel. The government has offered a judicial inquiry, administrative transfers, and recruitment assurances. But the students remain firm that only the chairman’s resignation and concrete filling of vacancies will restore confidence in the system.
A further meeting between student representatives and the Chief Minister is expected in the coming days. The outcome of that discussion is likely to decide whether the multi-location agitation in Pune escalates — or finds a path toward resolution.
The MPSC Protests Pune satyagraha will continue until the students’ demands are met, according to student representatives.
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