Backdoor appointments: ACAUT demands answers from state govt

DIMAPUR, MARCH 26 (MExN): The Against Corruption and Unabated Taxation (ACAUT) Nagaland today asked the Nagaland State Chief Minister, Dr Shurhozelie Liezietsu as to exactly how he would go about tackling the “illegal backdoor appointments in the police department and government departments in general.”  

“As far as the 2078 backdoor appointment in the police department is concerned, the Home Minister cannot escape responsibility. Secondly, if the Commandants and SPs have been making unauthorized appointments as alleged on the floor of the Assembly, the ACAUT asks what action the Home Minister is going to take against these authorities for making illegal appointments- a clear case of insubordination,” it questioned.  

A press note from the ACAUT further asked whether the Home Minister would terminate all the 2078 appointees “in the interest of capable Naga youths?” and whether the PHQ is ready to respond to this controversy.  

Apart from the 2078 police appointees, the ACAUT demanded that the NPF government “terminate all the BDOs, Senior Lecturers, Medical Officers, SDOs, JEs, CDPOs and other gazetted backdoor appointees in the RDD, Social Welfare Dept, Dept of School Education, PWD, SCERT, Higher Education, and Medical department, etc made in the last several years.”  

As NPF President, the ACAUT stated that the present CM had in 2016 “put his foot down against termination of backdoor appointees in his circular dated 20/3/16 to the then CM TR Zeliang and all the Cabinet Ministers.”  

“In fact, he wanted regularization of all those backdoor appointees who had completed 3 years in service. He had warned that unless this is done so ‘more than 1000 people will go against you in the next general election like 1993 episode where more than 800 senior people went against us on the issue of superannuation of age.’ Therefore, it is as crystal clear that the policy of the present NPF government is to continue with the backdoor appointments in all the departments till the next general elections in 2018,” the ACAUT alleged.  

The ACAUT while acknowledging MLA Mhonlumo Kikon for “forcing the government to bring out the exact status of backdoor appointment in the Home Department,” added that “the educated unemployed community would also appreciate if he can initiate measures to strike down the Office Memorandums of 2008, 2010 and 11/8/16 giving unfettered right to the government to make backdoor appointments or to regularize all backdoor appointees after 3 years in service.”  

While the ACAUT is working to strike down these OMs, responsible people within the system can do a lot without the ACAUT or other organizations resorting to lengthy and expensive legal options, it said.  

Meanwhile, it censured the NLA Speaker’s move to expunge the MLAs statement equating backdoor appointments to corruption. “When politicians make backdoor appointments, it necessarily amounts to buying of votes; or when jobs are sold in the Nagaland market for Crores of rupees, or when daughters and sons of politicians/bureaucrats are accommodated in the job market, the Speaker not to equate this with corruption speaks volumes about one’s ethics,” the ACAUT said.  

“With all the backdoor appointments, scams, nepotism and corruption in the NPF government, perhaps it’s time for young Nagas to ponder whether the NPF party should be allowed to come back after the 2018 elections,” it meanwhile stated.