ITANAGAR, Aug 30: The Green Arunachal Foundation (GAF) has alleged that the state government under Chief Minister Pema Khandu is sowing seeds of communal division which might prove detrimental for the state in the years to come.
“The Chief Minister should understand that Arunachal has a secular, democratic system of society and not a theocratic one”, stated the GAF in a release.
While the GAF maintained that it was not against any particular religion, it questioned the government about its decision to create 100 posts for Bodhi language teachers which in reality will only help one particularly religious group which is Buddhist.
“At present, Arunachal requires over 3000 teachers in government educational institutions. The state government must also be aware that many Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) teachers are awaiting their regularisation. To top it all, most of them do not get their salaries on time. In such a circumstance there is every reason to believe that the state government is playing a communal card for electoral gains,” stated GAF.
It also expressed surprise on the silence of intervening groups, unions and organisations like All Arunachal Teachers’ Association, All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union, etc.
Further, it claimed that “It is in everyone’s knowledge that NGOs functioning in Arunachal Pradesh for the welfare of the Tibetan refugees are being funded by the World Bank and the central government, in addition to 10 percent of the NGOs budget being pumped out from the state exchequer. In such a situation, it is in bad taste for the state if the decision makers favour and lean towards any particular belief or group of individuals.”
The Foundation has appealed to like-minded organisations and individuals to raise their voices against the “arbitrary and illogical” decisions of the state government which it opined might prove detrimental and was against the interest of the people.
