Now that the Chairman of the Nagaland Public Service Commission (NPSC) has voluntarily vacated his chair, one of the two demands of the Naga Students Federation (NSF) has been ‘unexpectedly’ fulfilled. The short tenure of the outgoing Chairman has in no way seen any improvement in the functioning of the premier recruiting agency. Rather, a series of embarrassing ‘mistakes’ have been committed by the NPSC both with regard to setting of questions and tabulation of marks. During such embarrassing situations, the presence of the NPSC Chairman went almost unnoticed, which was quite unfortunate. Mention may be made that in an earlier editorial in this column, the newspaper had taken the stand that the NPSC Chairman has no moral right to continue in office and the Governor should recall the former for failing to uphold his office. The decision as such to voluntarily vacate the chair was therefore not surprising at all given the manner in which the NPSC under him was performing—in a ham-fisted manner. The State government on its part should now do the right thing by appointing the right person to head the commission—someone with integrity, sound knowledge and reform minded who can restore public faith in the despondent NPSC and initiative the much needed improvement of the commission.
In the backdrop of the bribery scandal, the other demand of the NSF for CBI probe into NPSC dealings of the past 20 years needs to be welcomed. Much credit also goes to the NSF for keeping up the pressure on the establishment so as to root out the culture of corruption that has dogged the premier recruiting institution. It is also interesting to note that despite the NSF rejecting the earlier decision of instituting the State Vigilance Commission (SVC) for investigations, the State government has now chosen to remain indifferent to the findings made in the Vigilance’s reports. This goes to show that the political class will do its best to find escape routes and suppress the truth. The ordering of investigation through the SVC appears to be nothing but a whitewash to bury the massive scale of corruption into the dustbin of history.
As far as handing over investigation to the CBI goes, as the premier investigating agency in India the CBI has over the years built up an image for professionalism and integrity. The services of its investigating officers are sought for all major investigations in the country. CBI as an organization is held in high esteem even by the Supreme Court, the High Courts, the Parliament and the public. The Anti-Corruption Division of the CBI has handled cases against Chief Ministers, Ministers, Secretaries to Government, Officers of the All India Services, CMDs of Banks, Financial Institutions, Public Sector Undertakings, etc. Since it is truly an independent body (which the present State Vigilance Commission is not) it is expected that investigation by the CBI will be without fear and favor and only then will truth be unearthed and justice delivered. The response of the entrenched State bureaucracy and the wily political class on whether to bring in the CBI or not will no doubt be a test of their character. It is now for the State Cabinet to decide on where it stands.
