GUWAHATI, Nov 30 - The Assam Government is committed to restoring the old glory of the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) and there will be no interference in the investigation into the cash-for-jobs scam, asserted Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.
Talking to The Assam Tribune, Sonowal said that the police was asked to conduct an impartial investigation into the APSC scam. He said that the main aim of the Government is to cleanse the system and asserted that there would be no interference from the Government in the process of enquiry. He asserted that no one found to be involved in the scam would be spared.
Sonowal pointed out that the present Government came to power with the promise of rooting out corruption from the administration and claimed that the zero tolerance policy against corruption would continue. He said that for quite some time, the integrity of some members of the APSC was under scanner, and that the people of the State had been levelling various kinds of allegations against them. But for reasons best known to it, the previous Government did not take any action on the allegations to restore the past glory of the APSC.
The Chief Minister said that immediately after coming to power, the present Government started taking action against persons involved in corruption and when there was adequate proof, even the chairman of the APSC was arrested. It may be mentioned here that the Assam Police has so far arrested three APSC members for their alleged involvement in the cash-for-jobs scam. Sonowal, however, refused to go into the details of the investigation, saying that the case is now being monitored by the court and even the statements of the arrested persons are being recorded. �I can only say that the Assam Police is conducting an impartial probe into the scam,� he added.
Sonowal admitted that it is necessary to cleanse the APSC so that candidates for different government jobs, including the State civil services, are selected on merit alone. Selection of candidates only on merit is a must for a clean, efficient and corruption free administration.
Replying to a question on the Government�s stand on the MP Bezbaruah Committee and TL Baruah Committee reports on the APSC, Sonowal said that the previous Government failed to take any step on the reports. He said that the Government would now seriously study the reports and take necessary steps to restore the credibility of the APSC. The MP Bezbaruah Committee and TL Baruah Committee had pointed out several major flaws in the system and offered a series of recommendations to reform the APSC. But the recommendations are yet to be implemented.
