PATNA: A six-year-old boy from a slum in Patna became an unlikely centre of attention at a student protest on Tuesday, offering sharp political remarks to reporters as job aspirants and students demonstrated over demands linked to Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) examinations.Aditya, dressed in a T-shirt and denim trousers and sporting a traditional tilak, joined the protest in Patna and later told journalists that Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary should resign.“Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary should resign and action should be taken against those who ordered the lathi-charge,” the boy said.The child was later taken to a police station and handed over to his mother, with police clarifying that he had not been arrested. Officials said he had been kept there temporarily for his own safety.Social media had earlier been abuzz with claims that Aditya, a resident of Punaichak locality, had been arrested for participating in the protest. Police denied the claims, PTI reported.“We have also advised the mother and her daily wager husband to be more careful with their child who must not have been allowed to roam around when the area was beset with trouble,” a police officer said.When the boy was released, protesters began shouting “Gen Alpha”, turning him into a brief crowd favourite.Aditya’s parents and others familiar with him said his presence at the protest appeared to stem from his curiosity about what was happening around him. The boy, however, told reporters that he was “exercising his rights as a citizen concerned about the future”.The student protest had turned tense on Tuesday when students and job aspirants marching towards the chief minister’s residence clashed with police.Police used water cannons and allegedly resorted to lathi-charge after protesters breached barricades and pelted them with stones.Several people were detained and some protesters and police personnel were injured in the clashes.(With agency inputs)
