APPSC scam: Another battle in the offing

The deadlock over the APPSC scam ended on Saturday night after the government agreed to most of the 13-point demands of the All Nyishi Students’ Union and the Pan Arunachal Joint Steering Committee (PAJSC). For two days the Itanagar Capital Region was shut down and the whole state was on the edge, fearing large-scale violence. However, by and large the bandh call passed off peacefully. For now the tension has been defused, but it is going to be a long battle. Even though the government has agreed to most of the demands of the ANSU and the PAJSC, implementing them will be a Herculean task.

In particular the demand for declaration of any examination found to be involved with malpractices like paper leakage scams null and void is turning out to be contentious. The government said that a request will be sent to the APPSC, which is the competent authority to decide this. As soon as the new commission is constituted, it will have to make a decision. The decision has angered those who will be affected by this decision. Already murmurs are growing that soon they will come together under a banner and fight against any attempt to declare the examinations null and avoid. It looks like another battlefront has been opened with this decision. The government will have to tread very carefully in this regard.

Now that the government has agreed to all the demands of ANSU and PASJC, hopefully peace will prevail in the state. The government should sincerely implement all demands by taking the confidence of the people of the state.