Guwahati, Sep. 23 (PTI): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday asserted that his government will not hesitate to take any step to ensure a fair and transparent recruitment process in the state, including suspending internet services for up to 20 hours.
Sarma was speaking at an appointment letter distribution ceremony for 11,236 posts in 24 government departments here.
The Assam government's decision to suspend mobile internet services for four hours each on two days during written examinations for recruitment to Grade 3 and Grade 4 posts last month had drawn flak from several quarters.
We are committed to fulfil our pre-poll promise of providing 1 lakh government jobs. About 27,000 appointments have already been given in the last one-and-half-years, and today we are increasing the tally further, he said.
We will continue to organise such appointment letter distribution ceremonies till we reach the 1-lakh figure, Sarma added.
Referring to the criticism over suspension of internet services, Sarma said the state will not come to a standstill if that is implemented for two hours.
If is for the cause of the poor, middle-class and underprivileged people, we will suspend internet for 20 hours next time without any hesitation, the chief minister asserted.
Sarma said advertisements for 10,000 more jobs will be out soon, and urged youths who have failed to make the cut so far to carry on with their preparations.
The state government will also make an important announcement regarding another pre-poll promise of providing self-employment opportunities to two lakh youths on October 8, he said.
The CM said the recruitment process in education and home departments, which are major job providers, has already been made fair and transparent.
When the results of these 26,000 posts (Grade 3 and Grade 4) are out, I ask the journalists to find out one person who can say that he or she got the job through unfair means.
If even one such person is there, our government will quit from power, Sarma said.
Sarma, speaking about his own experience in 1998 when he was yet to become an MLA, claimed that jobs used to be given to candidates without any selection process, especially in the education department.
The chief minister said there was a job market in existence and he had initiated steps for ensuring a transparent recruitment mechanism in the education department since 2011, when he was given charge of the portfolio.