Staff Reporter

ITANAGAR :  The Arunachal Frontier Tribal Forum (AFTF) on Tuesday announced that it will organise a final mega rally on August 8 from Akashdeep to IG Park here, demanding the immediate scrapping of the existing 80:20 reservation policy in recruitment conducted by the Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) and the Arunachal Pradesh Staff Selection Board (APSSB), and enforcement of mandatory APST and Permanent Resident Certificate (PRC) requirements for all applicants to state government jobs.

Addressing a press conference at the Arunachal Press Club here, AFTF chairman Tadak Nalo said the proposed rally would serve as a “referendum” to mount pressure on the state government to act on the forum’s long-pending demands.

He appealed to people from all walks of life, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), community-based organisations (CBOs), students’ bodies and political parties to participate in the rally. He informed that signatures of all participants would be collected and that the forum would announce its next course of action during the programme.

Highlighting the significance of the date, Nalo said August 8 marks the anniversary of the Quit India Movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi in 1942 under the famous “Do or Die” call. Drawing a parallel with the historic movement, he said the AFTF would intensify its democratic agitation in a “do or die” manner if the government failed to address its demands after the August 8 rally.

“We hope the state government will not compel us to launch an extensive movement and instead act on our demands on or before August 8,” he said.

Nalo also termed the state government’s decision to constitute a six-member committee to examine the abolition of the 80:20 reservation ratio in government recruitment as an “eyewash”, alleging that it was merely delaying action on the issue.

The state government had constituted the committee, headed by Industries, Information & Public Relations Minister Nyato Dukam, was constituted on July 6 to examine the feasibility of scrapping the existing reservation ratio and making APST and PRC certificates mandatory for candidates appearing in recruitment examinations conducted by the APPSC and APSSB.

Nalo further alleged that a similar committee, headed by then Education Minister Taba Tedir, had been constituted in 2022 to examine the same issue. Although the committee submitted its report in 2024, the government has not acted on its recommendations, he claimed.

Earlier, on July 10, the AFTF had served a one-month ultimatum on the state government, demanding the scrapping of the existing 80:20 reservation policy in recruitment and the introduction of stricter eligibility norms for examinations conducted by the APPSC and APSSB.

The forum had also organised a signature campaign-cum-rally in support of its demands, during which thousands of people signed the petition.