[ Bengia Ajum ]
ITANAGAR, 2 Dec: As the APPSC question paper leakage case rocks the state, it took me back to a report I filed in March 2011 for this daily when an NGO by the name Save Arunachal Forum had claimed that around 2 thousand people were illegally appointed in various government departments in the state.
At that time the majority of these illegal appointments were made following recommendations by the MLAs. In one particular instance, a former textile and handicraft minister of Arunachal while approving illegal appointment applications wrote, “After careful consideration of the applications received as well as recommendations of the HMLAs, the appointment of following candidates to the post indicated against each is approved.” A large chunk of these appointments was made just prior to the 2009 assembly elections.
Just as everyone thought the era of illegal appointments has ended, the APPSCE paper leakage case rocked the state. The establishment of APSSB and the proper conduct of examinations by APPSC were starting to build the trust of the youth in the system. However, the first cash-for-job scam hit APSSB and now the paper leakage case has badly hurt the reputation of APPSC.
The trust of thousands of students who are studying day and night in preparation for these competitive examinations has been broken. It is going to be a herculean task for the state government to regain the trust of these youths. So far 25 people have been arrested in connection with the paper leakage case and more arrests are expected in days to come. The arrests of so many young men and women along with their parents have shocked the state. The extents to which people are willing to take the wrong path to secure the future are unprecedented. In a way, it exposes the rot within our society.
Today people who have wealth, it does not matter how he or she has earned it, are respected in the tribal society. These people give donations to clans, tribes and religious based organizations and therefore get respect.
The person who is law-abiding, earning respectfully, and living decent lives are seen as weak and unfit for the present time. Everyone wants to become successful and rich overnight. There must be hundreds of Taket Jerang operating in various departments even as this case unfolds.
For the rich, their children can afford to try their luck in business and in other avenues if they fail to get a government job. But for the poor, government jobs are the only security to a better future in the state. Not only candidates, but their entire family also pins hope for government jobs for a secure future. The dreams of so many people have been crushed and they are suffering for no fault of theirs due to a paper leakage case. Unemployment is the biggest problem troubling the poor youths of Arunachal at the moment.
Chief Minister Pema Khandu and his cabinet colleagues have now once in a lifetime opportunity to cleanse the whole system so that trust of youths in recruiting agencies like APSSB and APPSC is restored. People will extend wholehearted support to any kind of steps the government takes to cleanse the system.
