MPSC chairman Bhimanwar goes on leave till inquiry ends; Pune students suspend 11-day agitation

Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) chairman Vivek Bhimanwar announced on Monday that he would go on leave until the inquiry is completed, after which the students' agitation in Pune, which had run for eleven days, was suspended. On Sunday, at S. M. Joshi Bridge, the government had accepted some demands and announced an inquiry committee, and it was hoped that the agitation would end. But the demand for Bhimanwar's resignation resurfaced and tension suddenly rose on the stage.

MLAs Rohit Pawar and Vishwajeet Kadam, who led the agitation, tried to persuade the students. The students, however, stood firm on the stand of "no resignation, no withdrawal". Finally, Bhimanwar himself announced his decision to go on leave and the atmosphere calmed. The students asserted that the agitation was suspended, not ended. They also warned that they would resume the agitation if the government did not take action to their satisfaction.

The agitation had begun slowly. It gained momentum after three days. A student, Vivekanand Patil, took an active role in the leadership. His well-researched and aggressive speeches fired up the students. Questions were raised about the commission's functioning, and the demand for the chairman's resignation grew sharper.

Later, political leaders and eminent persons from various fields visited the protest site, the agitation gained importance across the state and pressure on the government began to build. An allegation was also made that an attempt was being made to suppress the agitation. During the agitation, the police registered two cases in succession, which caused considerable anger among the students. There was also talk that Rohit Pawar's name had been left out of the case. Pawar then went to the police station himself. He took the stand that the students should not be harmed and that if a case was to be registered, it should be registered against him, and he gave the government a final warning on the demands.

The government was putting forward the position that it cannot directly use the power to seek the chairman's resignation. The statutory process relating to the chairman's appointment was cited. Even so, the students' demand remained. When the agitation showed signs of escalating, the government sent a delegation led by minister Shivendraraje Bhosale for talks.

On Sunday night, a meeting was held between minister Bhosale, MLA Rohit Pawar and the students. The demands to set up a five-member committee to inquire into the allegations of paper leak and to take action against the guilty were accepted. The name of Tukaram Mundhe had been put forward as the committee's secretary, and that too was accepted. It was decided that the responsibility of the chairman's post would be given to a former judge. However, no decision was taken on Bhimanwar's resignation. Rohit Pawar and Vishwajeet Kadam also expected the agitation to end as the government had taken a positive decision on most of the demands.

In reality, the picture was different. Pawar and Kadam read out the list of accepted demands before the students, and even before they could appeal to them to withdraw the agitation, the students again pressed the resignation issue. Their stand was that they would end the agitation only if the chairman resigned. They took the position that they did not mind if cases were registered, but there would be no withdrawal without the resignation, which deepened the impasse on the stage.

Rohit Pawar repeatedly persuaded the students and tried to convince them of the importance of the accepted demands. Even so, the slogan-shouting continued and the situation was tense for some time. Finally, the microphone was handed to Vivekanand Patil, who had given the agitation its aggressive edge. An attempt was made to calm the students through his speech, but they stood firm on the demand. In the end, a compromise emerged. Bhimanwar announced that, on moral grounds, he would go on leave until the inquiry is under way. After he posted this on social media, the way was cleared to end the agitation.

The original demand that the chairman be made to resign was not accepted. But as he will stay away from the post while the inquiry is on, the agitation was brought to a close.