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ITANAGAR — The Arunachal Pradesh Assembly on Tuesday passed two important government Bills.
The Arunachal Pradesh Public Examination (Measures to Prevent Unfair Means in Recruitment) Bill and the Arunachal Pradesh Amending Bill 2024 were passed by voice vote.
The Arunachal Pradesh Public Examination (Measures to Prevent Unfair Means in Recruitment) Bill, presented by Chief Minister Pema Khandu, is aimed at providing effective measures to prevent and curb offences of question paper leaks and use of unfair means in examinations for recruitment to any post in the state government.
A provision dealing with designation of a special court for speedy trial of such offences has also been provided in the Bill.
According to the Bill, any person resorting to such unfair means would be punished with imprisonment for a term not less than three years, which may be extended to five years, and with a fine up to Rs 1 crore.
Khandu informed the House that the Bill was necessitated following an Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) question paper leak in 2022 that rocked the state.
"We have decided to overhaul the entire system and the commission and accordingly, the APPSC was constituted with a new chairman, and members, who have already prepared the standard operating procedures (SoPs)... All the officials and staffers of the commission have also been replaced to bring transparency in the selection process," the chief minister added.
Thanking the members who put forth various suggestions, Khandu said he will soon ask the advocate general to go through the Bill after assent of the governor and study all the clauses and recommend any modification, if necessary, so that it can be tabled in the next assembly session in its amended form.
"Unless the mindset of the people changes, any legislation or law enacted by the government will fail to create a full-proof mechanism in recruitment exams," the chief minister added.
Earlier, taking part in the discussion on the Bill, senior BJP MLA Wanglin Lowangdong urged the state government to raise the fine from Rs 1 crore to Rs 5 crore to deter unfair practices.
Lauding the state government for bringing in the much-needed Bill, Independent member Laisam Simai exuded hope that it will help ensuring free and fair recruitment process and prevent and curb offences related to question paper leaks and other malpractices.
NCP MLA Toko Tatung also urged the government to increase the fine and bring more stringent punishments. He also sought life-term imprisonment for those indulging in such practices.
The assembly also passed the Arunachal Pradesh Amending Bill, 2024 in its amended form.
The Bill, which was introduced by Law and Justice Minister Kento Jini on July 19, will substitute the words Indian Penal Code 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973, and the Indian Evidence Act 1872 with Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023, and Bharatiya Sakshya Adiniyam 2023, respectively, in several state Acts.