SIC questions whether children of bureaucrats should avail of reservation policy

ITANAGAR, 4 Mar: State Information Commissioner (SIC) Gumjum Haider on Saturday questioned whether the offspring of bureaucrats still have the right to avail of the reservation policies for SCs, STs and OBCs.

Addressing a two-day state-level symposium, themed ‘Reimagining our future together: Youths as agents of age’, the SIC said: “If reservations are made on a dependent basis, one would not progress and one’s mindset should be changed on reservations.”

He also had advice for student unions and organisations. “If student leaders spend crores of rupees during elections, how can you expect development?” he said, and added that “at least young minds should have rational thinking. If they (student leaders) offer, you should not take.”

“Now student leaders are business leaders, and we are apprehensive about losing good leaders, which means losing a generation,” he said.

Advocate and social activist SD Loda, who also attended the programme, said, “I did not call up the government, but I cleaned the rivers myself. It is your responsibility. You can create history for yourself by saying that charity begins at home.”

Speaking on student politics, Loda said that “nowadays, politics is defined as maximum profit, minimum loss.”

The symposium was moderated by Arunachal Pradesh Union of Working Journalists Vice President Ranju Dodum.