Stung by the criticism of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sushma Andhare on the protest by MPSC aspirants, who called it off on Monday after the state government accepted their demands, NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar on Tuesday hit back at her.“It feels like we won the war but lost the treaty. The MPSC chairman’s resignation was the demand. Nothing came out of this agitation,” Andhare said after the agitation was called off.The criticism by Andhare stung Pawar, prompting him to hold a press conference to counter her. “I want to tell Sushma tai and the people a few things. You came to the MPSC protest, spoke aggressively on the stage, and left. If you genuinely cared about the students, shouldn’t you have sat there? Shouldn’t you have slept there? Your leaders should have come and stayed there to take this demand forward. You can say anything while speaking on TV. What is the situation there? How much pressure is there? Action had been taken against 15 people. Police told us they had the names of 800 people and action would be taken the next day, and perhaps action would have been taken against another 1,200 students. In that case, we would have been in police vans, our photos would have been taken, we would have gained political benefit, and we could have baked our political bread,” Pawar said.The MLA said all this would have hurt the future of the students. “What about the damage to those students? Would it be right for us to bake our political bread and become heroes by getting beaten up at the cost of their futures? We don’t believe in that. Therefore, while presenting the students’ perspective, one has to consider certain factors. Protests have happened before as well. However, getting a written letter with the chief secretary’s signature confirming that demands have been accepted is no easy task,” said Pawar, who led the students’ agitation.The Maharashtra government on Sunday formed a committee chaired by former Chief Justice of Bombay High Court Justice Dilip Bhosale to probe allegations of irregularities, including question paper leaks, in the MPSC. State FDA commissioner Tukaram Mundhe has been appointed its secretary.Besides Justice Bhosale and Mundhe, the panel also includes former HC judge Justice P D Naik, retired IAS officer Ganesh Patil, and Inspector General of Police Lakhmi Gautam.MPSC aspirants, who had been protesting in Pune for the past 11 days over alleged malpractices in government recruitment exams and demanding the resignation of Commission Chairman Vivek Bhimanwar, called off their agitation early Monday morning after the state government accepted their demands.Story continues below this adAfter the announcement, Bhimanwar said he would go on leave until the probe is completed. “The state government has announced a judicial inquiry into the MPSC paper leak case. Throughout my life, I have always given utmost priority to morality. Therefore, I have decided to go on leave during this period rather than continuing to hold office until the inquiry is completed,” Bhimanwar said in a post on X.