Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, 11 Feb: The Pan Arunachal Joint Steering Committee (PAJSC) – an organisation of aggrieved aspirants – has accused the state government of being insincere about reforming the Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC), which is still reeling under the paper leak scam.
Hundreds of aspirants and their parents gathered at the tennis court here on Saturday, expressing displeasure and anguish over the appointment of the new chairman and members of the commission.
The development came a day after members of the PAJSC had a meeting with the state government at the civil secretariat here to discuss the paper leak issue, and to end the months-long deadlock.
The government claimed that it has fulfilled most of the demands made by the PAJSC and the All Nyishi Students’ Union (ANSU) over the issue. However, the PAJSC and the ANSU expressed dissatisfaction over the way the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is probing the case.
“If you are committed to bringing reformation in the APPSC, appoint someone who will be serious and stay longer to reform – not like the new chairman, retired lieutenant general Shantanu Dayal,” PAJSC chairman Techi Puru said.
Puru claimed that Dayal’s appointment has “proved the government’s insincerity towards reforming the scam-ridden commission,” and said that Dayal would be in the commission “for only one year.”
“The appointment of the current chairman and members is just to quell the agitating aspirants. If the government is serious, it should appoint someone who will be here at least for three-four years,” Puru added.
The committee also demanded that the government disclose the number of candidates who had applied for the posts of the APPSC chairman and members, and said it “strongly endorses the demand of the aspirants’ parents that the new chairman and members should not take oath on 17 February.”
“We will not let the oath-taking ceremony of the new chairman and members happen on 17 February, until our demands are met. We will stage an agitation on 15 February again,” Puru declared.
Taking a dig at the All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU), the PAJSC chairman said that the committee would “boycott the AAPSU and part ways with it over the APPSC question paper leakage issue.”
“The AAPSU has become the government’s spokesperson. The government also wants the exam to be conducted and the AAPSU also wants the same. From now onwards, the PAJSC will not listen to the AAPSU on the paper leak issue and will boycott the AAPSU,” Puru said, and added that “the government should not speak to the AAPSU in this regard.”
“We as aspirants don’t require the AAPSU, as the AAPSU has submitted its memorandum without consulting us, which proves that their aim and direction are different from ours,” he added.
The PAJSC said also that it will not sit in any meeting with the government to discuss the issue.
The CBI took over the APPSC paper leak case on 6 January. However, so far no one has been arrested, except the 46 persons who were arrested by the Special Investigation Cell.
