Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, 26 Dec: Home Minister and government spokesman Bamang Felix on Monday said that the Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) paper leak scam “is a crime against humanity and a blatant attack on the trust of the government and the people.”
Addressing the media along with MLA Nyato Dukam at the civil secretariat here, ahead of the All Nyishi Students’ Union’s (ANSU) enforcing a 12-hour capital bandh on Tuesday over the scam, Felix said: “Neither the government is considering the APPSC paper leak issue as a deliberate mistake, nor simple crime; rather, this is a blatant attack on our trust and a crime against humanity, orchestrated by a few selfish and greedy individuals.”
“The government will not tolerate this act of insanity,” Felix said, and reiterated that no individual involved in the scam would be spared based on their status or position.
Felix informed that the state government is working on two fronts on the issue: “On one front, cleansing the entire system by overhauling the commission, so that free and fair examinations may be conducted, so that genuine aspirants are not deprived, and on the other hand, ensuring that all individuals, be they government officials or public, involved in the scam are prosecuted without fear or favour.”
Felix added that the government is making all efforts to “win back the hearts of aspirants and deprived youths by ensuring that no aspirant and youth feels neglected.”
“In order to make the APPSC robust and transparent, the commission’s staffers have been inducted into the civil secretariat cadres to rotate their service,” he informed.
However, Felix also highlighted the limitations of the government, stating that “the government also has to work under the ambit of democratic frameworks causing delays in the procedures.”
Issuing a point-wise clarification on the ANSU’s and the aspirants’ demands, Felix reiterated that “no individual, be it chairman and secretary of the commission, will be spared based on their position and status; rather, all will be put under the purview of the investigation, and, if found involved, will be prosecuted accordingly.”
He informed also that departmental inquiry has already been initiated against the 27 government officials involved in the scam.
The home minister also informed that he had a meeting with ANSU representatives at his official bungalow on Sunday and briefed them on the status of the action taken by the government on the paper leak issue.
“The cabinet has already taken the decision to write to the high court to nominate a court to fast-track the APPSC paper leak case,” he informed.
On the ANSU’s and the aspirants’ demand to declare null and void any examination which involved malpractices, Felix said that “the government cannot jump into conclusions, since the matter is under investigation.”
However, he asserted that the government’s decision would be based on the inquiry report.
Felix further said that the government has furnished the three-member committee report to the ANSU members.
“The government has also reiterated that APPSC examinations will take place only after securing robust SOP and full-fledged commission,” he said.
Felix added that “the government is committed to address the scam and make all efforts to restore the faith of the aspirants in the commission.”
He appealed to the ANSU to call off the proposed bandh, stating that bandh is not a solution.
“We are ready to talk. As we reiterated, no one (involved in the case) will be spared based on their status and position,” said Felix.
Meanwhile, ANSU president Nabam Dodum reiterated that the 12-hour capital bandh would be enforced “and whatever law and order issue occur during the bandh, the government would be held responsible.”
Dodum also questioned the sincerity of the investigating agencies and asked why the investigating agencies couldn’t arrest or trace any other question paper seller, except Taket Jerang.