New Delhi, Jan 30 (IANS): Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi Thursday said the change in the pattern of the UPSC civil services exam is wrong and he will take up the issue.

The statement from his office came after a group of students met the Congress leader requesting him to intervene in the issue.

Changes made by the Union Public Service Commission in 2013 have excluded foreign languages from its course.

This move affects thousands of students who opted for different languages as one of the subjects in the exam.

The aspirants are alleging that they were left with very short time to prepare and also the changes are discriminatory against students from the rural areas.

"Rahul Gandhi agreed with the students and said all aspects should have been taken into account before making a change," the statement said.

"He said he will do everything he can on this issue," it added.

The civil service aspirants are demanding that they be given age relaxation and a chance for three fresh attempts.

According to the present norms, a general category student is given four, an OBC student seven and there is no restriction on the number of attempts to crack the exam by an SC/ST student till the age of 35.

The aspirants had also staged a protest outside Rahul Gandhi's office Wednesday.