Pune, 23rd September 2026: Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) aspirants have announced a fresh protest against the commission’s functioning, examination process and pending recruitment. The students plan to hold a sit-in at SM Joshi Bridge in Pune on September 27 at 10 am.
NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar visited the Pune Police Commissionerate on Tuesday along with students to seek permission for the protest. He met Joint Commissioner of Police Sanjay Darade and Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Branch) Prashant Amritkar. Pawar said the protest would go ahead even if police permission was not granted.
Pawar said the students are demanding the resignation of MPSC chairman Vivek Bhimanwar, conducting examinations through the offline mode instead of online mode, and restarting the recruitment process for around 70,000 pending posts. The students have also raised concerns over the commission’s examination and recruitment procedures.
The students had earlier planned to hold a protest on September 26 but decided against it in view of Ganeshotsav. Pawar said police had not granted permission for the September 26 protest.
Pawar said some students were preparing for a hunger strike and that the duration of the agitation could not be predicted. He said the government should hold discussions with a 15-member delegation of students before the protest.
He also said students were unhappy with discussions about introducing online examinations in phases. Pawar added that if all five demands of the students were accepted, the students would publicly felicitate the Chief Minister.
Meanwhile, a section of students and representatives of competitive examination organisations has opposed Pawar’s involvement in the agitation. Nikhil Patil alleged that the September 27 protest was a political programme rather than an independent student movement.
“This is not a student protest but a political party’s protest. Students should decide whether they want to participate. Many of the important issues raised by students have already been resolved,” Patil said.
Patil also questioned Pawar’s statements regarding government appointments and alleged that political interests were influencing the agitation. His allegations have not been independently established.
Pawar rejected claims that students were divided and said attempts were being made to suppress the agitation. He claimed that notices had been issued to around 70 to 80 students in connection with the proposed protest.
Pawar said students would continue with the September 27 agitation and urged the government to engage directly with student representatives to resolve their concerns.
