B-Pharma degree holders and diploma pharmacists are once again at loggerheads over pharmacist appointments in Bihar's hospitals. B-Pharma degree holders began an indefinite hunger strike on Tuesday at the Gardanibagh protest site, demanding the implementation of the Central Recruitment-Promotion and Service Regulations-2025 in pharmacist recruitment across the state.

Arjesh Raj, leading the hunger strike, stated that B-Pharma degree holders were given opportunities in recruitments in 1999, 2006, 2013, and 2016. However, in 2024, the Health Department amended the rules, excluding B-Pharma holders from pharmacist appointments in hospitals. This move, according to him, deprived approximately 25,000 B-Pharma pharmacists in the state from applying for 2473 positions, leading to 1600 posts remaining vacant. Other protestors, including Divyanshu Raj, Vimal Kumar, Ravi Ranjan Kumar, Jaikaran Kumar, and Abhimanyu Kashyap, also demanded the implementation of Central Regulations-2025, citing the discontinuation of the D-Pharma course in the country in 2000. They argue that while some states and railways have removed D-Pharma, Bihar has excluded B-Pharma.

Conversely, the Diploma Pharmacist Organization's student wing has strongly opposed this protest. Arvind Kumar Chaudhary, the state president of the organization, issued a press release stating that both the Patna High Court and the Supreme Court have upheld the Bihar government's rules, which designate 'Diploma in Pharmacy' as the prescribed qualification for the pharmacist post. He termed the current protest as contempt of court orders and has written to the Chief Minister, Health Minister, DGP, DM, and SSP, demanding legal action against the protestors. He warned that if the government fails to act, they too will take to the streets. This development has reignited the long-standing dispute over the educational qualifications for pharmacist positions.