Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, 11 Aug: The Pan Arunachal Joint Steering Committee (PAJSC), which has been spearheading the movement against the Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) question paper leak scam, on Friday hit out at the state government, accusing it of not being serious about fulfilling the 13 demands placed by the committee.
During a press conference at the Arunachal Press Club here, PAJSC vice chairman Tadak Nalo said that they had high expectations from the government, particularly Chief Minister Pema Khandu, that their demands would be fulfilled.
“On 18 February, we were sold hope in a piece of paper called ‘minutes of meeting’, wherein all the 13 demands were addressed. The CM had personally assured us that all the demands would be fulfilled slowly. We do agree on the initiative the government has taken with regard to certain demands, and this we appreciate. But the majority of demands have not been fulfilled till now. We feel betrayed as we had kept our faith in the government,” said Nalo.
He alleged that the government only gave written assurance and no demands have been fulfilled. “Six months have passed since that 18 February meeting. Instead of fulfilling our demands, the government went on a witch hunt against PAJSC and all people who supported our movement. Is this how you treat the people who are fighting against corruption? We have been treated like criminals, which is unfair. We are still waiting for the government to fulfill our demands and we are hopeful that it will,” he added.
On the committee’s demand for a high-level inquiry headed by a retired judge of the SC/HC (court-monitored probe) for parallel investigations from 2014 to 2022, the PAJSC alleged that the government has not initiated any action yet.
“Even though the case has been transferred to the CBI and an ED case has been registered, much is needed to speed up the investigation. The personnel and human resource of the CBI must be strengthened immediately and the CBI should be coordinated and asked to update the ongoing cases at regular intervals. The ED needs to be coordinated by the state government and provided with an office in Itanagar instead of Guwahati as the cases being investigated are confined in Arunachal Pradesh,” the PAJSC stated.
It also alleged that government has “taken a half-hearted step” with regard to the demand for immediate constitution of a fast-track court for prosecution of the accused involved in the scam.
“The Gauhati High Court on the recommendation of the state government designated the district and sessions court Yupia as the special fast-track court to try APPSC paper leak cases. The initiative of the state government is appreciated; however, the reciprocation of the Gauhati High Court is perplexing as the mentioned court is already overburdened by various cases like POCSO, criminal and other similar cases, and hence, designating the same court as the special fast-track court to try APPSC leakage cases is a questionable initiative,” the committee said.
The PAJSC urged the government to write again to the Gauhati High Court to change the designated court to some other court within Itanagar, instead of the district and sessions court Yupia, with respective judges specifically for the trial of APPSC paper leak cases.
The committee also alleged that the government is yet to terminate the jobs of those involved in the paper leak scam.
“We appreciate the government’s move to initiate departmental inquiries and send termination notices. However, the ground reality is far from satisfactory, as the termination process of Taket Jerang has not been started till date and none of the brokers in the entire APPSC paper leak scandal has been dismissed yet. Latest updates on the status of the departmental inquiries have not been made public. The forced retirement awarded to Taket Jerang must be immediately revoked and he must be dismissed from his service by invoking Article 371 H and other relevant laws as promised by the chief minister at the 18 February meeting,” it said.
The PAJSC also urged the government to speed up the process of selection of a new APPSC chairman and members and start conducting examinations.
“We only want the selection of the best members and chairperson, so that the commission can conduct exams in a fair manner. It is wrong to portray as if we are holding the government from conducting examinations, which is not the truth,” it added.
Constituting the Whistleblower Act, 2023 was one of the highlights of the meeting on 18 February, where assurance was given that the inputs of the aspirants would be incorporated. The PAJSC has prepared a blueprint for the same.
However, despite acknowledgement by the government, there has been not any update from the authority concerned till date regarding this.
The PAJSC also alleged that whistleblower Gyamar Padang has been disrespected by the government. “Instead of honouring his sacrifice, a smear campaign against him has been launched. The ICR DC has made some very hurtful remarks against him. He should publicly apologise for it,” said the PAJSC vice chairman.
The committee also informed that it has submitted suggestions and inputs for the Arunachal Public Examination (Measures for Prevention of Unfair Means in Recruitment) Bill, 2023 to the AR secretary on 1 June, but there has been no response from the government.
“We want a logical solution to the 13-point demands, including our demand for null and void. Being in a democracy, we have the right to place demands. But it is upto the government how to address it. We want an amicable solution to all demands and still we are ready to sit across and discuss with the government if it is sincere about fulfilling our demands which are in public interest,” said Nalo.
