Centre asks UPSC to cancel latest advertisement for lateral entry in bureaucracy

Government cancels lateral recruitment for joint secretary, director, and deputy secretary posts, citing social justice concerns and reservations.

Two days after the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) issued advertisements for lateral recruitment into government service for 45 posts of joint secretary, director and deputy secretary levels, the government moved to cancel these planned recruitments, citing social justice.

Minister for the Department of Personnel and Training, Dr. Jitendra Singh wrote to the chairperson of the UPSC, Priti Sudan on Tuesday (August 20, 2024) asking that the advertisements be withdrawn and plans for recruitment cancelled. This follows not just protests by the opposition against the move, but NDA ally Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) declaring that entry into government service without quotas set aside for Scheduled Castes and Tribes was “unacceptable”.

The text of Dr, Singh’s letter, stating that harvesting talent from outside the government had been a recommendation of the Second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC), set up under the UPA government in 2005, and the Sixth Pay Commission (2013), adds that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, such entries into government have to be aligned with social justice.

The letter also goes on to say that under the Modi government, what had been an ad-hoc process of lateral entry in the past was being made transparent, a departure from what Dr. Singh termed, “it is well known that members of the infamous National Advisory Council (NAC) used to run a super bureaucracy that used to control the Prime Minister’s Office.”

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi 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 reservations. For the Hon’ble Prime Minister, reservation in employment is a cornerstone of our social justice framework, aimed at addressing historical injustices and promoting inclusivity,” said the text of the letter.

The letter acknowledges that provisions for the reservation aspect of appointments were not present in the advertisements for the recruitments and hence these needed to be reviewed and reformed, and the current advertisements be cancelled.

The government walking back from the lateral recruitment process is not just a reflection of a backlash from the opposition and NDA allies but also reflects the lessons that the BJP seems to have gleaned from the opposition’s campaign during the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls. The opposition’s campaign had alleged, with some help from irresponsible statements from BJP MPs themselves, that the BJP wanted a brute majority of 400 or chaar sau paar, in order to affect fundamental changes in the Indian constitution, especially with regard to reservations in government jobs for Scheduled Castes and Tribes. This campaign spread like wildfire, and BJP leaders in internal assessments have acknowledged that the campaign cost them significantly especially in States like Uttar Pradesh.