The Rising People’s Party (RPP) on April 23 launched a sharp attack on the state government, stating that “the 147 issue has clearly shown that Rio government is anti-student and anti-youth,” and demanded the removal of Higher Education Minister Temjen Imna Along.
Referring to the controversy surrounding the regularization of 147 Assistant Professors and Librarians, RPP recalled that “once upon a time, the Hon’ble Minister for Higher Education Imna Along declared bombastically that henceforth there would be no more appointments from the backdoor, window or the ceiling.” However, the party said, “today he has managed to provoke every right thinking citizen” on the same issue.
While calling Imna Along the “provocateur-in-chief,” the party said “Rio’s Cabinet is to be equally blamed for the regularization.” The party questioned the integrity of the Minister, remarking that “the Minister in charge of an important department such as Higher Education should be someone who has some semblance of integrity and character.”
“It’ll be worthwhile to recollect that there’s also a fraud case pending in the Bombay High Court against the Hon’ble Minister,” RPP added, demanding that “Imna Along be relieved of his Higher Education portfolio” in “the interest of fairness and justice.”
Stressing the seriousness of the issue, the RPP said, “The 147 matter is now a prestige issue. For the student community to back off without the issue being settled will have disastrous consequences for the future generation.” The party supported the demands of CTAN and NNQF, stating, “The just demand of CTAN and NNQF will have to be fulfilled.”
RPP also criticized the formation of a Cabinet Sub-Committee to study the matter, calling it “insulting, demeaning and tone deaf.” The statement warned that “the issue of contractual appointment is all pervasive,” and that “it’s only a matter of time before the same issue surfaces in other departments as well.”
The party called on CTAN, NNQF, and NSF to act while “the iron is hot” and extract two key undertakings from the government: one, that “all contractual appointments done after June 6, 2016, is illegal and contrary to the Office Memorandum dated June 6 2016 banning contractual appointments,” and two, that “Rio’s government will immediately requisition all these posts either to the NPSC or NSSB for conduct of examination.”