Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, 23 Sep: The chorus for overhauling the Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) is seemingly gaining momentum as hundreds took out a protest march against the APPSC on Friday, demanding CBI and Enforcement Department (ED) inquiry into the AE (civil) paper leakage case, “and all other APPSC exams.”
The rally was organised by the Paper Leakage Issue Committee of AE (Civil) Exam, and was supported by people from all walks of life, including political leaders and members of student organisations.
The protestors shouted slogans against the commission for colluding with middleman Tama Saroh, who has been arrested for his role in the paper leakage case.
“Tamatar becho, bhindi becho, lekin question papers mat becho,” the protestors shouted.
Joining the march, All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU) president Tana Dozi Tara accused the commission of indulging in corrupt practices.
“The whole system of the commission has been infected with the virus (corruption) which needs to be uprooted in order to restrain it from further transmission,” he said.
“The arrested deputy secretary-cum-deputy controller of examination, Taket Jerang, is a subordinate officer. He was working under the guidance of a higher officer. Therefore AAPSU will not sit back until all the officials involved in the paper leakage case are arrested and properly investigated,” Tara said.
“There must have been a scam in all the previous competitive examinations conducted by the APPSC,” he said, adding that “all the examinations conducted by the APPSC must be thoroughly investigated by the ED or the CBI, where accused Jerang was assigned.”
The AAPSU also demanded structural reformation, stating that the officers of the commission, “from top to bottom,” are corrupt.
“Everybody is seeing a fault in the system. There should be a whistleblower to see a change,” said Janata Dal (S) leader Jarjum Ete, who also joined the march.
“We are just cogs in the wheels of corruption,” she added.
Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary Toko Mina claimed that she was also “a victim of the faulty system of the commission,” and demanded cancellation of the licenses of all the coaching institutes involved in the crime,” saying that “the root cause of the issue should be dealt with first.”
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Friday vowed to “deal with the officers and people involved in the case with an iron hand.”
Addressing a function organised by the All Arunachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj Parishad, the CM said, “I have assured the public that the culprits will not be spared.
“The SIC, SIT and high-level committee have been constituted to unearth the fiasco. They will submit their reports to the government within 15 days,” Khandu said.
“I will not tolerate a corrupt mindset in the APSSB and the APPSC, as it is playing with the future of our generation. We will deal with iron hand,” he said.
