The Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) today agreed to the demands of the protesting aspirants, announcing that it will conduct the PCS preliminary exam in a single day. This decision follows days after massive protests by the students in Prayagraj who demanded that the exams be held in one day and a single shift.

Notably, the PCS exam was to be held in two shifts on December 7 and 8. The Review Officer and Assistant Review Officer (RO-ARO) preliminary examination was to be held in three shifts on December 22 and 23 and has been postponed. Furthermore, a decision on fixing a fresh date for the RO-ARO exam will be taken once the UPPSC submits a report.

Ashok Kumar, UPPSC Commission Secretary made the announcement in front of the students in Prayagraj, who have been protesting against the exam schedule for the past four days. He said that multiple paper leak issues in competitive exams have come to light from different parts of the country in the last few months, in which some institutions were found to be involved. Therefore, to ensure the sanctity and transparency of competitive exams, the state government had planned to hold exams with over five lakh aspirants in multiple shifts, he continued.

The UPPSC Commission Secretary mentioned that as a part of this, the state exam body announced to PCS exam 2024, proposed to be held in December and ARO exam 2023, in multiple shifts. He added that the demand raised by some students over the past few days was taken into cognisance by the Chief Minister, who directed the commission to maintain dialogue with the students and take a decision. Ashok Kumar said that the commission will hold the exam in a single shift.

Earlier on November 5, the UPPSC announced that the RO-ARO and the PCS exams were in three and two shifts, respectively. The move to conduct the exams on separate dates drew widespread criticism, while the aspirants argued that it caused unnecessary confusion and hardship. Meanwhile, the Opposition also criticised the BJP over the UPPSC’s exam schedule.

AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan’s bail in the Delhi Waqf matter has exposed Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government’s false case, said senior party leader Sanjay Singh on Thursday.

A Delhi court on Thursday ordered Khan’s release in a money-laundering case related to alleged irregularities in the Delhi Waqf Board while refusing to take cognisance of a charge sheet filed against him.

“Bail to Amanat. Once again, Modi’s false case has been exposed. Modi ji tried all his tricks but could not eliminate Arvind Kejriwal and AAP,” the party’s Rajya Sabha MP Singh said in Hindi on X.

Echoing his colleague, former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said Amanatullah Khan’s bail by a Delhi court made it clear that the BJP had sent him to jail in a false case, adding the BJP was misusing the ED.

Sisodia charged that the main objective of the saffron party is to put AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal and his associates in jail in false CBI and ED cases so that they cannot contest the elections.

“We all are out of jail. The BJP will not win in the Delhi elections, Arvind Kejriwal will become the CM again,” said Sisodia. The Delhi Assembly election is due early next year.

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said this was bound to happen. “All AAP leaders are out now. The truth cannot be defeated and we are going to contest the Delhi elections with full strength,” he said.

On September 2, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Khan as part of a money-laundering investigation against him and some others linked to him.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted on Thursday that Maharashtra has attracted the maximum FDI after the formation of the BJP-led Mahayuti government in the state. He added that the people have benefited from the investment.

Addressing a rally in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar for the November 20 state Assembly elections, Modi claimed that more than Rs 70,000 crore contracts have been finalised “in this region alone”.

PM Modi said that the BJP-led Mahayuti government is working with the vision of Viksit Bharat, which led to the development of Maharashtra by building modern infrastructure in the state. “Today Samruddhi Mahamarg is passing through Sambhaji Nagar. It is directly connected to Marathwada, Vidarbha and Mumbai,” he added.

“Maharashtra has to lead the vision of Viksit Bharat. BJP and Mahayuti are working for the same Sankalp. To achieve this, now modern infrastructure is being built in Maharashtra… In this entire region, the railway is being modernised,” said Modi.

Slamming the Maha Vikas Aghadi (Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar-led NCP) over water crisis issues, PM Modi said the Aghadi has only exacerbated the problems of Maharashtra. He said when the Congress-led Aghadi was in power in the state, it did nothing to resolve the issue of water crisis, which persisted for a long time. In contrast, under BJP-led Mahayuti government, for the first time, it took some concrete steps against drought, said Modi.

To fulfill the wish of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray, Modi said, the BJP-led Mahayuti government renamed Aurangabad as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.

“The whole of Maharashtra knows that the demand to rename this city as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar was raised by Balasaheb Thackeray,” he said. The Congress party went to the court to overturn this decision, he added.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi government was in power for two-and-a-half years but did not have the courage to rename the city under pressure from the Congress, he said.

“This election in Maharashtra is not just an election to elect a new government. In this election, on one side some patriots believe in Sambhaji Maharaj and on the other side there are people who praise Aurangzeb,” Modi said.

“BJP-Mahayuti ahe, tar gati ahe, Maharashtrachi pragati ahe (If there is Mahayuti there is progress in Maharashtra),” PM Modi said.