Amid controversy over lack of reservation for scheduled castes (SCs) and tribes (STs), the Centre has cancelled the lateral entry recruitment announced last week.
In a letter to Union Civil Service Commission (UPSC) Chairperson Preeti Sudan, the Centre said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi believed that even though there has never been a provision for reservation in lateral appointments, the recruitment of lateral entrants must be aligned with the principles of reservations and hence the last week’s recruitment drive without reservation should be cancelled.
Dubbing reservation in public employment as the “cornerstone of our social justice framework, aimed at addressing historical injustices and promoting inclusivity”, the letter to Sudan said that principles of reservation must be upheld in lateral appointments for adequate representation of the marginalised communities.
“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…It is important that the constitutional mandate towards social justice is upheld so that deserving candidates from marginalized communities get their rightful representation in the government services,” said the letter to UPSC Chairperson Sudan form Jitendra Singh, the Minister of State (MoS) for Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions.
Hence, the lateral entry process must be reformed and reviewed and the last week’s advertisement for lateral recruitment must be cancelled, said Singh.
Singh said, “Since these positions have been treated as specialized and designated as single-cadre posts, there has been no provision for reservation in these appointments. This aspect needs to be reviewed and reformed in the context of the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s focus on ensuring social justice. Hence, I urge the UPSC to cancel the advertisement for lateral entry recruitment issued on 17.8.2024. This step would be a significant advance in the pursuit of social justice and empowerment.”
Following the publication of the advertisement, the Opposition had slammed the Centre for ignoring reservation in the recruitment. For the past one year, the Opposition led by Rahul Gandhi has turned to caste to go after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Under the motto of ‘jitni aabadi utna haq (your rights as per your population)’, Rahul has sought a caste census and a redistribution of wealth across the nation.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Rahul said, “Lateral entry is an attack on Dalits, OBCs and Adivasis. BJP’s distorted version of Ram Rajya seeks to destroy the Constitution and snatch reservations from Bahujans.”
Centre reminds lateral entry’s roots to Congress era
Even as the Modi government buckled under the Opposition’s pressure over the lateral recruitment scheme, Singh in the letter highlighted that the scheme had roots in the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance’s (UPA) era.
In 2005, a government commission led by Congress leader Veerappa Moily had endorsed the idea of lateral entrants, said Singh.
Singh also flagged that several cases of lateral appointments during the UPA years carried allegations of favourtitism.
“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…While most of the major lateral entries before 2014 were made in an ad-hoc manner, including cases of alleged favouritism, efforts of our Government have been to make the process institutionally driven, transparent and open,” said Singh.
Even as the Modi government buckled under the Opposition’s pressure over the lateral recruitment scheme, Singh in the letter highlighted that the scheme had roots in the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance’s (UPA) era.
In 2005, a government commission led by Congress leader Veerappa Moily had endorsed the idea of lateral entrants, said Singh.
Singh also flagged that several cases of lateral appointments during the UPA years carried allegations of favourtitism.
“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…While most of the major lateral entries before 2014 were made in an ad-hoc manner, including cases of alleged favouritism, efforts of our Government have been to make the process institutionally driven, transparent and open,” said Singh.
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After Modi’s intervention, DoPT tells UPSC to cancel lateral entry hiring process
