New Delhi: Rajasthan Administrative Service (RAS) aspirants have been protesting at Rajasthan University for the past 15 days, demanding that the upcoming RAS mains exam—scheduled for 17 and 18 June—be postponed. Their main concern is that interviews for the previous RAS cycle are still ongoing, and many candidates currently facing interviews are also eligible to appear for the upcoming mains. This, they argue, will increase competition and result in duplication of seats.
Several BJP leaders, including party’s state president Madan Rathore and Agriculture Minister Dr Kirodi Lal Meena, have met the protesting students and assured them they would raise the issue, but so far, no concrete action has been taken.
“We were promised that the exam will be postponed but a lot of people have received admit cards that proves that no one raised our issue and they are not ready to postpone the exam,” said Himanshu Sharma, an RAS aspirant who works in banking services, to ThePrint.
In protest, a large number of students are staging a dharna on the Rajasthan University campus, with many also observing a hunger strike. As a result, according to those present at protest site ThePrint spoke to, the health of 32 students has deteriorated. Currently, there are ambulances parked at the site too.
On Saturday, the protesting students marched to the residence of Kirodi Lal Meena, demanding that the RAS mains exam be postponed, but were not able to meet him.
“Suppose if 10 people clear the interview and the mains too, that means 10 seats will get wasted as they will join the service and the mains exam won’t happen again. Ten is just an example, but the actual number could be more,” said Sharma
At the outset of the protests, BJP leaders had reportedly assured the students that the exam would be postponed, which led many aspirants to ease up on their revision. Now, with no postponement in sight, the students are protesting in frustration and anger.
Another reason behind the demand for postponement is that students living in border areas were unable to prepare properly due to recent India-Pakistan clashes and Operation Sindoor. Frequent blackouts and lack of electricity severely disrupted their study schedule, leaving them at a disadvantage.
Political leaders—including ministers, MLAs, and the BJP state president—had written to the Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) a few days ago highlighting the irregularities, but the Commission has not responded, a leader said to ThePrint, wishing not to be named. The matter is now taking on a political colour, with opposition parties accusing the government of ignoring students’ concerns.
A week ago, BJP’s Madan Rathore asked the students to call off their hunger strike, saying he will raise their issue.
Around 40 MLAs wrote in support of the students urging the commission to address their demands, but the RPSC has remained unresponsive.
Since the release of the admit cards Saturday, more than 20,000 candidates have downloaded them. The RAS mains examination is scheduled to be held on 17 and 18 June. It will take place at 77 centers—29 in Ajmer and 48 in Jaipur—across two shifts: from 9 am to 12 noon; and from 2.30 pm to 5.30 pm.
A total of 21,440 candidates have been registered by the commission for the exam.
The proposed date of RAS (Main) Examination-2024 was released by the Commission on 31 December 2024 itself. The preliminary examination was conducted on 2 February and its result was released on 20 February, within 18 days. As the Commission had announced the proposed dates for the mains examination in advance and released the preliminary results promptly, candidates have had time to prepare.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
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