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Union min writes to UPSC to withdraw advertisement for lateral entry recruitments
Jitendra Singh has written that PM Narendra Modi has stressed that the “process of lateral entry must be aligned with the principles of equity and social justice enshrined in our Constitution”
The Union government has urged the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to cancel an advertisement for lateral entry of 46 bureaucrats, suggesting a review keeping in mind reservation norms to ensure social equity – days after a massive political row erupted over the issue.
In a letter to UPSC chairman Preeti Sudan, Union minister Jitendra Singh has written that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stressed that the “process of lateral entry must be aligned with the principles of equity and social justice enshrined in our Constitution, particularly concerning the provisions of reservation”. HT has seen a copy of the letter.
The issue was raised by the Congress through party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi over the weekend. The government pushed back, saying the scheme began in the earlier United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government and pointed to several lateral entrants – including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh – brought in by previous regimes. But its own ally and union minister Chirag Paswan on Monday said that he would push for a review of the scheme to ensure reservation norms are adhered to.
Jitendra Singh underlined in his letter to Sudan the importance of upholding the constitutional mandate towards social justice so that deserving candidates from marginalised communities get their rightful representation in government services. “Since these positions have been treated as specialized and designated as single-cadre posts, there has been no provision for reservation in these appointments,” he wrote. He added this aspect needs to be reviewed and reformed in the context of the Prime Minister’s focus on ensuring social justice.
Singh said as a principle, lateral entry was endorsed by the Second Administrative Reforms Commission which was constituted in 2005, and chaired by Veerappa Moily. “The recommendations of the sixth pay commission in 2013 were also in the same direction. However, both before and after that there have been many high-profile cases of lateral.”
He said under earlier governments, posts as important as that of the secretary in various ministries, the leadership of UIDAI, etc, have been given to lateral entrants without following any process of reservations. “Further, it is well known that the members of the infamous National Advisory Council used to run a super-bureaucracy that controlled the Prime Minister’s Office.”
Singh said most of the major lateral entries before 2014 was made in an ad-hoc manner including alleged favouritism. He added efforts of their government have been to make the process institutionally driven, transparent, and open. “...the Hon’ble Prime Minister is of the firm belief that the process of lateral entry must be aligned with the principles of equity and social justice enshrined in our Constitution, particularly concerning the provisions of reservation. For the Hon’ble Prime Minister, reservation in public employment is a cornerstone of our social justice framework, aimed at addressing historical injustices and promoting inclusivity.”
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 to these appointments.
