Reconsider half-baked reforms; Jayalalithaa to Singh

Chennai, April 25 (IANS) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa Thursday termed the central government's "in principle" decision to change the method of induction of state service officers into the All India Services as "half-baked reforms" and asked for the step to be reconsidered.

In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the text of which was circulated to the media Jayalalithaa expressed her opposition to the central government's move, terming it "ill considered half-baked reforms".

She urged Manmohan Singh to reconsider the "in-principle" approval given to the Union Public Service Commission to change the method of inducting state officials to All India Services.

"The existing pattern of induction into the All India Services should be retained, and the Union Public Service Commission may be directed not to proceed further with the preparatory work for such a common examination," Jayalalithaa said.

She said the state government has received a letter from Union Public Service Commission calling for a meeting to finalise the syllabus for the common written exam on April 26 for selecting state service officers to All India Services.

"It is indeed surprising that, on a matter of great importance which can impact centre-state administrative relations such as the mode of recruitment into the All India Services, there is no formal communication to the states from the ministry of personnel, which functions directly under you," Jayalalithaa told Singh.

"We have to learn that an "in principle" decision has been taken, from the UPSC ex-post facto, and ostensibly for the purpose of endorsing and operationalising the unilateral decision," she added.