Pune: MPSC on Thursday postponed the Maharashtra Gazetted Civil Services Combined Preliminary Examination, scheduled for Aug 25, amid protests by aspirants seeking a date change and inclusion of 258 agriculture services posts in the exam. The aspirants called off the agitation after police told them to leave the protest site on Shastri Road, where they had been staging a sit-in since Tuesday. On Thursday, the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) posted on its ‘X' handle, "In the commission meeting held today, it has been decided to postpone the Maharashtra Gazetted Civil Services Combined Preliminary Examination 2024 scheduled on 25th August 2024.
The exam date will be announced soon." The MPSC aspirants were primarily upset as the dates of their preliminary examination and Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) clerical staff exam coincided. They were also unhappy with the non-inclusion of agriculture posts in the MPSC preliminary examination and the delay in the announcement of the exam schedule for non-gazetted posts at various govt departments.
On Thursday evening, the Vishrambaug police detained and later released nine protesters who had gathered on Lal Bahadur Shastri Road in Navi Peth to demonstrate against what they called the govt's continued neglect of civil services aspirants. Among the detained was a protester who had previously saved the life of a 19-year-old woman last year near Perugate police chowky after she was attacked by her estranged bo.