Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, Nov 4: About 450 mains qualified candidates of the Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Combined Competitive Examination (APPSCCE) have come out demanding postponement of the examination scheduled for 10 November.
The candidates demanded that the commission, instead of going ahead with the scheduled examination, establish a committee and set a date only after the high court gives a concrete decision. In this regard, the candidates had already written to the governor and the Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) on 1 November.
They asked the APPSC why it was adamant on conducting the examination on 10 November when the case is sub-judice in the high court bench here.
The candidates were of the opinion that conducting the mains examination would give rise to complicacies and could potentially put their candidature at risk if the court ends up scrapping the exam.
“We should not be victimized in the process. We want the commission to take into account the mental hardships that we as mains qualified candidates have been going through for the past few months. The commission must take a stand that our candidature as mains qualified candidates will be preserved no matter what the outcome is of the court case,” they said.
They cited the example of the 2016 Manipur Public Service Combined Competitive Examination (MPSCCE) where candidates found anomalies and took the commission there to court.
“The Manipur commission went ahead with the recruitment process even while the matter was in court. Since 2016, there has been no new notification for the MPSCCE as it has been mired in court cases. As of today, the 2016 examination might be scrapped and all the selected candidates may lose their jobs,” they said, and asked the other group of mains qualified candidates whether they were willing to go through the mental uncertainties of going through the subsequent recruitment process and then losing their hard-earned jobs as the court cases drag on.
“If the mains exam is conducted despite the status quo and the court scraps the exam, what will happen to our candidature? If the court cases drag on till after the interview and the recruitment process is over, can the commission assure that our jobs will be secure?” they asked.
Speaking to this daily, the candidates clarified that they were not against or with the petitioners (aggrieved candidates), and affirmed that they were also prepared for the examination but sought a conducive atmosphere for it.
“We believe we have cleared the preliminary exam with fairness by dint of our hard work… A free and fair examination requires the environment to be conducive,” they said.
While 1339 candidates have qualified for the mains this year, the 450 candidates seeking postponement of the examination said there are more candidates coming out seeking the same.
