The agitating students said that they needed extra effort to appear in the UPSC exam as their preparation was affected due to COVID-19.
Abhishek Anand Sinha, the main petitioner in the case Abhishek Anand v Union of India, said, “We have filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking additional effort as we are not fully prepared.” Sinha said, “Many students who have tested positive for Covid-19 have been quarantined and some of them have lost their family member due to coronavirus. They cannot study in such circumstances. ”
He stressed that “there are a lot of people in our groups who are doctors and work day and night during that period. They are not prepared because it was difficult for them to manage time.”
Sinha further said, “Our first petition was filed in September 2020 and the judgment came on 26 October 2020.”
Sinha pointed out that in March 2021 the students filed the petition and in July the verdict came, in which the Supreme Court expressed concern over the students and said that “the government is the one who can decide on it and hand it over to the government”.
“We are only saying that our demands are valid and the Supreme Court has certified them. But we have not received anything from the government,” Sinha said.
“We have repeatedly held small protests, but today students from all over the country have come here,” he said.
Speaking further, Sinha said, “Candidates have faced many hurdles in preparing and appearing for the exam. The country and many of its regions faced complete shutdown. COVID-19 pandemic and many people had to migrate to their home towns. Candidates have to face personal, physical, psychological, emotional and financial hurdles.”
“We also face the digital dive as many of us do not have facilities like laptops, internet connection, bandwidth,” he said.
Sinha further said, “We are sitting on endless dharna, we will decide the future course of action collectively with full compliance of law and order. We all hope that both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah will listen.”
Gaurav, a protester from Madhubani, Bihar, said, “For the last five years I have been preparing for UPSC exams and the year 2020 was my last attempt.”
He said, “Just before the exam, my father passed away during Covid. And I was not mentally prepared. When the result was declared, I could not qualify. So we ask the government to give us a chance. demand,” he said.
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