The Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) on Monday rejected key demands of protesting job aspirants, making it clear that negative marking would not be removed from its objective examinations and that all its examinations would, henceforth, be conducted in at least two stages.

The Commission’s clarification, however, was overshadowed by a remark by its examination controller, Rajesh Kumar Singh, who casually quoted the Hindi proverb, “Hathi chale bazaar, kutta bhaunke hazar (an elephant walks while a thousand dogs bark)”, while responding to questions about the protests.

The quote, generally used to exhort one to stay focused on their goals while ignoring the noise, triggered a political and social media backlash, with critics alleging that it amounted to describing protesting students as “dogs”.

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Tejashwi Yadav, RJD National Working President and Leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly, called the remark “shameful” and said such language by officials would not be tolerated.

Singh later said the proverb had been quoted out of context. “A proverb quoted by me is being twisted and presented out of context on social media. I had no intention of hurting the sentiments of any specific individual or group,” he said in a video statement, expressing regret “if any individual or group is hurt”.

The controversy came as students in Patna’s Gardanibagh have been protesting over several demands, including the proposed examination pattern for the fourth Teacher Recruitment Examination (TRE-4), since August 18.

Meanwhile, students protesting under the banner of the All PhD Holders and Research Association have assured to withdraw their 21-day hunger strike, following an agreement reached with the Bihar Governor over their key demands.

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The assurance came after a two-hour meeting between the Governor and a six-member delegation of the protesting students. Governor Lt Gen (Retd.) Syed Ata Hasnain has assured protesting PhD scholars that their key demands regarding the 2026 Assistant Professor Recruitment Regulations will be considered, with the regulations being kept on hold until necessary amendments are made. A committee of educationists and experienced administrators will be formed within 15 days to examine the students’ demands, including changes to the age limit, recruitment examination, API/PhD/NET-JRF weightage, and the service conditions of guest assistant professors.

To be sure, All PhD Holders and Research Association is just one of the many groups which have been holding protests at Patna’s Gardanibagh. While it has called off its stir, other protests were still underway when last reports came in.

‘Exam system not unique to Bihar’

At the press conference, Singh said the decision to conduct BPSC examinations in two stages – preliminary and mains – had already been taken. Singh said the system was not unique to Bihar, citing the UPSC, UPPSC, Gujarat, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh as examples of public service examination being conducted in two or three stages.

Singh said all objective examinations conducted by the BPSC would have negative marking and argued that the provision applied equally to all candidates. He said removing it could encourage candidates to guess answers, allowing those who had not adequately prepared to benefit.

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The controller also rejected allegations of discrimination against Hindi-medium candidates, adding that examiners assessed answers on their quality and not language.

The Commission also rejected allegations that marks above 60% could not be awarded, stating there was no such prohibition in place.

‘Contentious answer sheet

The Commission also sought to rebut allegations surrounding the answer sheet of the candidate who secured Rank 3 in the 70th BPSC mains examination.

Questions had been raised over a copy circulating on social media that appeared to show a largely blank answer sheet, with allegations that the evaluation process had been manipulated to favour the candidate. The BPSC termed the viral copy “completely fake” and displayed what it described as the original answer sheet at Monday’s press conference.

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Singh said the candidate had answered Question 7 but had left its sub-parts unanswered, for which no marks were awarded. He said the evaluation was based on the quality of answers rather than the number of pages filled.

Singh said that candidates who believed there was evidence of wrongdoing could approach the court with their claims.

Meanwhile, for TRE-4, BPSC said, applications will be accepted from September 1 to September 30. The examination may be held in December or January, with the schedule likely to be announced in October, officials said. “If applications remain below five lakh, the examination will be conducted in three shifts; if they exceed five lakh, six shifts will be required,” an official said. A proposal to provide an additional 10 to 15 minutes is still under consideration. The examination will comprise objective-type questions.

The Commission said domicile policy was a matter for the state government. It also said about 72% of candidates appearing in BPSC examinations were from Bihar.

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On the Assistant Engineer examination held about a year ago, Singh said its result remained pending because of a court case. The Commission has sought the Advocate General’s opinion and will proceed after the legal issue is resolved.

Meanwhile, student leaders have announced a march towards the Chief Minister’s residence on Tuesday.