Guwahati: Even though urging the news channels to exercise restrain
over reporting on responsive issues, the Electronic Media Forum Assam
(Emfa) expressed dismay at the way a State civil service officer
slammed the media for a recent reporting.
The active television media forum, while observing a video statement
posted in Facebook by Ramanuj Hazarika, a 2015 batch Assam civil
service officer-where he announced his losing respect for ‘Assamese
media’ (read free-to-air news channels), fervently asked the young
officer to rethink over the content of his outburst in the social
media.
It may be noted that Hazarika, the election officer and executive
magistrate of Dhemaji district in eastern Assam had resigned from his
job on 23 November 2017 with an aim to prepare for the Union Public
Service Commission examinations and he uploaded his statement after
witnessing few news items relating to his resignation.
He objected to the content of the news telecast by a section of media
outlets saying that Hazarika’s resignation at the time of ‘cash for
job scam’ under Assam Public Service Commission run examinations
carried significance (read apprehension) as over 25 young ACS, APS and
allied services officers (who had cleared the APSC examinations) were
behind bars for corruption in the selection processes.
Need not to mention that hundreds of Assam government officials were
arrested on corruption charges soon after the Bhartiya Janata Party
led government took power at Dispur by May 2016 under the leadership
of Sarbananda Sonowal, who maintains in his repeated public statements
that the authority would not compromise with the corruption.
The news item speculated primarily for two reasons as the public
opinion in Assam were in favour of scanning all the answer-scripts of
APSC run examinations under the chairmanship of Rakesh Kumar Paul (who
is also facing trials after arrest) since 2015 and secondly, why it
emerged necessary for an ACS officer to resign (not applying for
longer leaves) from his job to appear in UPSC run examinations.
“We agree that an officer can reign and prepare for a better
opportunity any time he prefers. But the timing of Hazarika’s
resignation carries significance as the investigation process to
identify all the tainted ACS/APS officers (including his 2015 batch
mates) is still on,” said a statement issued by the Emfa.
The forum appreciates that Hazarika, even after many hurdles in life
carried a brilliant academic career to finally complete his M Phil
from the Jawaharlal Nehru University after MA from the same university
and graduation from the Hindu College under Delhi University
successfully.
“However, carrying excellent marks in examinations does not
necessarily that the particular student would be good (honest) in
his/her life,” added the Emfa statement advising Hazarika to wait for
the logical (legal) conclusion of APSC cash for job scam before
launching a crusade against the media as a whole.
The statement was issued by Nava Thakuria (president), Paragmoni
Aditya (working president), Chayamoni Bhuyan (vice-president), Bimal
Ghosh (general secretary), Bhaskarjyoti Bhuyan (treasurer) for Emfa,
Guwahati, Assam
