Yet, 11 days later, students are still on the streets, and the government is preparing to open another round of talks. The Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) agitation in Pune presents an unusual situation for the state government. The government followed this up by removing the commission’s secretary and announcing a judicial inquiry.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had met a delegation of aspirants even before the protest gathered momentum and agreed to several of their demands.
The chief minister announced a judicial inquiry into the functioning of the commission’s former and current chairpersons and members, promised the transfer of its secretary, and gave assurances on recruitment and examination procedures. The students temporarily suspended their planned agitation. The first round of talks on September 30 appeared to offer a way out.
Earlier reporting noted: Subsequently, Maharashtra Public Service Commission Chairman Vivek Bhimanwar announced that he had proceeded on leave till the inquiry was completed. The sequence raises a question about how the two sides have approached the dispute. The government has responded with announcements and administrative action, while the protesters have continued to press for a change that those measures have not delivered: the resignation of MPSC chairman Vivek Bhimanwar. The government subsequently acted on the secretary’s removal. Mahendra Harpalkar was relieved of the post in early October. But the chairman’s resignation remained unresolved. The state government has maintained that it cannot directly remove the head of a constitutional commission, whose removal is governed by a separate constitutional process. For the government, these steps amounted to a response to the concerns raised by aspirants. For the students who returned to the streets, they did not go far enough. That difference in how the two sides viewed the outcome of the meeting has shaped the agitation since. The government, too, faces competing considerations. It must respond to allegations that have raised doubts about a public recruitment institution, while respecting the rules governing that institution and maintaining public order. The Bombay High Court has also asked the state to present a roadmap for fair examinations and recruitment. The government while appointing Tukaram Mundhe as secretary of the probe committee has taken few steps forward. The government’s initial response shows that dialogue can produce administrative decisions. The continuation of the agitation shows that those decisions have not yet persuaded the protesters to withdraw. The gap between the two is where the next round of talks will have to begin.
Earlier reporting noted: MPSC aspirants end agitation; chairman Bhimanwar proceeds on leave Pune, MPSC aspirants late Sunday night ended their 10-day agitation after the Maharashtra government formed a committee, with senior IAS officer Tukaram Mundhe as secretary, to probe alleged irregularities, including paper leaks, in the recruitment body. The issue, therefore, is no longer confined to the demands at the protest site.
Its outcome went beyond repeating earlier assurances with some agitators still insisting on Bhimanwar’s resignation, till the time of going to press. Earlier reporting noted: A state government delegation led by minister Shivendra Raje Bhosale met the agitating aspirants and informed them that most of their demands, including the formation of an inquiry committee with officers such as Mundhe, had been accepted. The talks which continued post midnight on Sunday, the 11th day of the agitation, offered another opportunity to narrow the differences.
