Centre’s U-turn on lateral entry, vows to revisit rules

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 20

The BJP-led NDA dispensation today rolled back its lateral entry plans for 45 top government posts amid pressure from the Opposition and allies LJP and JD(U). The parties had criticised the government for ignoring constitutionally mandated quotas in the process of hiring private experts.

Defeat of Arrogance

Modi government’s letter on lateral entry shows only power of Constitution can defeat the arrogance of a dictatorial regime. — Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress Chief

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For social justice

We have decided to apply principle of reservation in lateral entry too. PM has always shown his commitment towards social justice. — A Vaishnaw, I&B Minister

The UPSC cancelled its August 17 advertisement after the government asked for its withdrawal. The Centre further promised to review the rules that currently prevent applicability of SC, ST, OBC reservation to single-cadre posts.

“It is important that the constitutional mandate towards social justice is upheld so that deserving candidates from marginal communities get their rightful representation in government services. Since these positions have been treated as specialised and designated as single-cadre posts, there has been no provision of reservation in these appointments. This aspect needs to be reviewed and reformed in context of PM Modi’s focus on ensuring social justice,” Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh said in a letter to UPSC Chairman Preeti Sudan, while urging cancellation of the advertisement issued on August 17.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge credited Rahul Gandhi with the retraction, while NDA ally LJP’s Chirag Paswan said the PM “heeded to the concerns we flagged on behalf of the marginalised”.

The government and the BJP, meanwhile, attacked the Congress for “hypocrisy”.

“Did the Congress factor in quotas while inducting former PM Manmohan Singh, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Vijay Kelkar as finance secretaries and Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani as UIDAI chief through lateral entry?” said Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

The Centre’s retreat on the issue comes amid fears of another anti-quota offensive with Haryana, J&K, Jharkhand and Maharashtra elections round the corner. A similar offensive had cost the BJP dear in the recent Lok Sabha elections.

That explained why MoS for Personnel Jitendra Singh recalled the history of lateral entry plan in his letter to the UPSC chief, saying the concept, as a principle, was endorsed by the second Administrative Reforms Commission constituted in 2005 and chaired by Congress veteran Veerappa Moily.

“The recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission in 2013 (under Congress-led UPA) were in the same direction. However, before and after that there have been many high-profile cases of lateral entrants. Under earlier government posts as important as secretaries in various ministries, leadership of the UIDAI, have been given to lateral entrants without following any process of reservations. Further it is well known that members of the infamous National Advisory Council used to run a super bureaucracy that controlled the PMO,” Singh said in a veiled attack on Congress stalwart Sonia Gandhi who headed the NAC.

The minister also said while most major lateral entries before 2014 were made in an ad hoc manner, “our efforts have been to make the process institutionally driven, transparent and open”.