Dimapur, Oct 23 (MExN): The Naga Students Federation (NSF) has urged “Chief Minister of people’s Government” Neiphiu Rio to keep his words to hand over the Nagaland Public Services Commission (NPSC) corruption case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) without further delay and that the commission’s chairman should be brought for public trial.
“The NSF urges honorable Chief Minister of people’s Government to keep his words to hand over the CBI without further delay to save public service commission institutions in the interest of upcoming youths who believe in truth, fair and justice; The NSF urges the authority of the Chief Minister office to consider this matter as generations’ issue rather than political issue” a letter to Rio from the NSF through its President Phushika Aomi and Speaker WH Maring advised.
NPSC is yet to be free from nepotism and corruption and needs drastic changes by taking stringent action against the officials responsible for the mess while the chairman of the commission should be brought to public trial “for all these faults and owe moral responsibility for all the mess during his tenure as Chairman” the NSF demanded. The Federation lamented that “whenever there is a crisis in the Commission and the presence of the Chairman is direly needed, unfortunately we find him absconding” and that the public are not at all satisfied with the government’s “softness” in tackling the bribery scandal in 2005.
The NSF raised these questions for clarification: The bribery attempt made on the CoE on February 14, 2005, and the commission’s decision to keep the matter as internal issue.
Failure of the NPSC to report the matter to the Vigilance/Police and “the emotional turn against certain local paper” for reporting the facts in May 2005; not allowing the CoE as prime witness of the bribery attempt, ‘thus obstructing the Vigilance from proper and in-depth investigation into the attempted bribery case by the Government’; the government’s “terms of reference” limiting the vigilance to go further with which “the scope to cleanse premier institution faded there”; the NPSC Chairman “whose integrity is doubtful” ‘unethically’ defending the CoE by writing a personal letter to the Chief Secretary to avoid departmental enquiry; questioning and nullifying the Vigilance Report against the CoE on his conduct such as ‘engaging Ms. Ajitha, a Clerk in Alder College Kohima, for typing question papers of NPSC 2004 without sanction of the Commission and the Government.
The NSF stated that in 2005, after preliminary result was declared, two wrong questions were detected during re-evaluation. The NPSC instead of admitting and taking punitive action on the errant officials, “blamed Computer” and later on claimed to have blacklisted the professional company engaged by the NPSC. “Will the commission consider miss-fed as unavoidable error? Was it not the responsibility of the Examination branch officials?” the NSF queried. Further, one candidate declared passed as EAC in 2005 (Reservation-BT) was later denied seat by entertaining complaint from another candidate who happened to have secured 19 marks more than her (complaint entertain after the mark-sheet is issued). “When the matter was brought to the notice of the Commission by the students’ community, it simply claimed as clerical mistake of the officials. Why Chairman and CoE, NPSC shows leniency in taking corrective measure against the irresponsible officials in such serious case and also entertain the complaint even after the result is declared thereby humiliated the already declared passed candidate?” the NSF asked.
“This year the declaration of preliminary examination is a record breaking for the Commission could declare it within 7 days after the exam and claims to have no complaints from any. The NSF detected an over aged candidate (Over aged by 2 years 5months 26days as on 01/01/2005) after viva-voce and learnt that the candidate was allowed by the CoE and the Chairman. The Candidate himself had clarified in the local papers on this matter. It is also found that the same candidate’s surname is notified as “Walling” whereas his actual Surname is “Longchar”. How such discrepancy cropped up over a name of a candidate and being overlooked by the Chairman of the Commission (the Matter is notified to the Chief Secretary and Commission by the NSF in written)?” it added.
The NSF said that the government is aware as to who should be held responsible for such mistakes committed in the Commission. Not a single exam conducted by the NPSC goes without a corrigendum/addendum and clarification till today, the NSF lamented adding that the Federation has a “big doubt” on the Examination branch of the Commission as to why the already declared result has to be re-declared on October 10, 2006, thereby Roll No. 0759 who was declared as DSP had to be adjusted to UDA and subsequently affected 4 candidates. “Does NPSC have adjustment authority? What excuses the Commission has this time too? Who should be held responsible for this? What is government going to do this time? Is the government still of the view that everything is all right in the NPSC? The Naga intellectuals need proper clarification from the CoE and the Chairman NPSC and assurance from the government” the NSF reminded.
