Govt pushes back on lateral entry; ally opposes plan

Union minister and LJP (RV) chief Chirag Paswan stressed the importance of reservations in government positions

A political controversy over recruitment of public servants through lateral entry intensified on Monday as the Union government pushed back on criticism by the Opposition that the move was diluting caste-based reservations and named some prominent members brought in by previous administrations, even as ally and Union minister Chirag Paswan opposed the scheme saying quotas were sacrosanct.

LJP (RV) chief Chirag Paswan. (File)

The row began after the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) last Saturday advertised 45 posts -- 10 of joint secretaries and 35 of directors/deputy secretaries -- to be filled through the lateral entry mode on a contract basis. On Sunday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that the government was attacking the Constitution by “snatching away” reservations. Government servants are usually recruited through the civil services exam process but lateral entrants – typically experts in a particular field – are inducted directly. No quota is currently applicable on these appointments.

On Monday, the government hit back and called the allegation false and baseless, even as it released a list of 10 prominent people brought in through lateral entry by the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. The list included former Reserve Bank of India governors Bimal Jalan and Raghuram Rajan, former prime minister Manmohan Singh, former member of the finance commission NK Singh, and former deputy chair of the planning commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia, among others.

“Lateral entry is not something that we have started and lateral entry is not something which is a mainstream thing. Starting with the very famous name of Dr Manmohan Singh, who was brought in as finance secretary; Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia was brought in as finance secretary; Mr RV Shahi was brought in as power ministry. We have seen Mr Vijay Kelkar brought in as finance secretary. Large number of examples exist, [from] well before this particular notification of UPSC,” Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Monday.

He said that lateral entry openings did “not cut into the roster of any civil services” or impact the reservation system for regular openings. He said these positions were temporary and created for only three years.

“These new job openings do not cut into the rosters of any service. What is the roster? Roster is the how many SC candidates, how many ST candidates, how many OBC candidates will have to be taken and balance is general. The roster is created keeping in mind that every next candidate taken is from a reserved category,” the minister told reporters.

Saying that “misleading imputation that Congress is doing is baseless and false”, the minister said, “This (the lateral entry) was done in the UPA government, and before that NDA government and before that Congress government. They had lateral entry also but were done in an un-systemic manner. What we have done is to make it systemic and transparent by giving it UPSC.”

He also clarified that these were just temporary, and contractual positions did not affect the promotions of civil servants.”These positions are created where expertise is required and for three years. They can be extended for a maximum of two years,” he added.

But the scheme was opposed by his Cabinet colleague and Union minister Chirag Paswan, also the chief of the Lok Janshakti Party (RamVilas). “Reservation provisions must be there in any government appointment. There are no ifs and buts in this. No reservation exists in the private sector and if it is not implemented in government positions as well... The information came up before me on Sunday and it is a matter of concern for me,” he told news agency PTI.

Paswan said as a member of the government, he had the platform to raise the issue and he would. “As far as my party is concerned, we are absolutely not in support of such a measure,” he added.

This is the second time Paswan has openly opposed a move by its ally the Bharatiya Janata Party, the first being a diktat by the Uttar Pradesh government asking all shops on the Kanwar route to display names and details of owners.

Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal attacked the Congress. He said former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who joined as economic adviser in the finance ministry in 1971, joined the government through lateral entry. “We want to say that Dr Manmohan Singh is also an example of lateral entry. In 1976, how did you appoint him finance secretary? Your Planning Commission’s vice-chairman was also on a lateral entry. You will find hundreds of such examples...you started lateral entry,” he said.

The government also named entrepreneur Sam Pitroda, technocrat V Krishnamurthy, economist Kaushik Basu, economist Arvind Virmani, and technocrat Nandan Nilekani as other members the UPA government brought in through lateral entry.

Meghwal accused Congress of trying to mislead the people from SC, ST and OBC communities. He said that the Second Administrative Reforms Commission, which was formed in 2005 when Congress-led UPA government was in power, had suggested recruiting experts to fill the gaps that require specialised knowledge.

But the Congress and other opposition parties kept up their attack.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said that while his party-led government had brought in lateral entry to appoint select specialists and experts in some sector-specific posts as per their utility, the BJP government has made provision for it to “snatch the rights” of Dalits, tribals and backward classes.

“Instead of filling jobs in government departments, the BJP has eliminated 5.1 lakh posts in the last 10 years by selling the share of Government of India in PSUs alone,” he said.

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi alleged that the government’s move was an attack on Dalits, tribals and OBCs.

“Lateral entry is an attack on Dalits, OBCs and adivasis…The BJP’s distorted version of Ram Rajya seeks to destroy the Constitution and snatch reservations from bahujans,” the former Congress chief said.