Arunachal cancelled appointment of APPSC chairman & members ‘considering popular demand’: Khandu
Itanagar, Mar 10: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Thursday told the Assembly that the State Govt has cancelled the appointment of Chairman and Members of Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) following last month’s ‘demonstration’ and the memorandum submitted by the aggrieved candidates.
Though the Chairman and Members of the Commission were appointed but due to agitation launched by the aggrieved aspirants, they could not be sworn in, the Chief Minister said.
“Considering the popular demand of the people, the State Cabinet, by taking into consideration the views of Senior Advocate General, has cancelled the appointment of Chairman and Members of APPSC,” Khandu said while replying to a supplementary query raised by senior leader Nabam Tuki during ‘question hour’.
He also mentioned that the protesters demanded a selection committee be formed afresh, and the process of appointment of the Commission chairman and members initiated.
Asked by senior member Ninong Ering whether Govt has accepted the memorandum submitted by the (Joint) Steering Committee for null and void the exams conducted by the Commission, Khandu said in a written reply: “APPSC is the constitutional body to conduct recruitment exams. The Government has no rule in recruitment process. Therefore, the issue has been referred to APPSC for taking an appropriate decision once the Commission is constituted and is functional.”
Further asked from which year the null and void of examinations is effected, the Chief Minister said, “The APPSC, being the competent authority will take appropriate decision on this matter.”
The Chief Minister also informed the House that as per latest report, there were 11 exams since 2017 in which arrests have been made on allegations of malpractices. Till date, two cases have been registered by the Special Investigation Cell (SIC) of the Vigilance Department and subsequently, the cases have been handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The premier probe agency has filed chargesheet against nine individuals in one of the cases, till now.
So far, 54 individuals, including 42 government officials, have been arrested in connection with the alleged malpractices in the recruitment exams conducted by the Commission since the year 2017, Khandu informed.
The APPSC fiasco came to the fore after one Gyamar Padung, who appeared in the AE (Civil) Main exam, filed a complaint at the Itanagar police station on August 29, claiming that he suspected that the question paper was leaked. More than 400 candidates appeared in the said exam held on August 26 and 27 last year.
