ITANAGAR, Aug 26: The People’s Party of Arunachal (PPA) on Sunday slammed the state government for its decision to introduce the Service Selection Board (SSB) for recruitment of Group C employees.
It said the decision was taken without conducting either an all-party legislature meeting or a cabinet meeting.
Condemning the decision as “unacceptable, dictatorial, and taken without taking into confidence the stakeholders or an all-party legislatures meeting,” the PPA said the decision to implement SSB “is a sugar-coated pill to divert attention from serious issues such as Trans-Arunachal Highway compensation scam, greenfield airport compensation scam, rampant corruption, and rising law and order problems.”
The SSB in its present form is unacceptable, the PPA said, adding, “If at all the SSB is to be implemented, then there should be reservation for the many small tribes and sub-tribes for at least 10 years, so that they are not left behind the rest of the state.
“There are many small tribes and sub-tribes who are lagging behind the others because of geographical location, economy, less population, and other factors. Their voices often don’t reach the policymakers and their problems and hardships often don’t reach the legislative assembly,” the party said.
The PPA said there should be reservation for such small tribes and sub-tribes of the state, namely, Buguns, Lispas, and Sartangs of West Kameng district; Mijis and Puroiks of East Kameng district; Bangrus of Sarli and Puroiks of Kurung Kumey district; Nahs and Mrahs of Taksing and Limeking in Upper Subansiri district; Membas, Boris, Bokars, and Pailibos of Mechuka in West Siang district; Khambas of Tuting, Gelling, and Singa; Meyors of Anjaw; Yobins of Vijoynagar in Changlang district; and Tutsas and Olos of Laju circle in Tirap.
PPA president Kahfa Bengia said, “The present government has taken quite a few whimsical decisions in the recent past without consulting the stakeholders.”
For instance, the PPA said, earlier decisions to increase the rate of land revenue and the decision to prioritize Bhoti language over other indigenous languages (without taking the confidence of cabinet colleagues) were dictatorial.
