Amid quota row, Centre asks UPSC to cancel lateral entry advertisement

In a letter to the UPSC, Jitendra Singh said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly believes that the process of lateral entry should adhere to the principles of equity and social justice

The Centre on Tuesday wrote to Preeti Sudan, chairman of the Union Public Service Commission, requesting her to withdraw the recent notification for lateral hiring of officials at various positions, which was published in an advertisement on Saturday.

In an official letter, Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh noted that while the lateral hiring initiative (including those from the private sector) was initially endorsed by the Congress-led government in 2005, Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly believes that the process of lateral entry should adhere to the principles of equity and social justice as outlined in the Indian Constitution.

Shortly after Singh's letter, the Commission issued a press release on its website, stating that the August 17 advertisement stands cancelled.

In the letter, Singh alleged that under the previous (Congress) governments, key posts such as that of secretary in various ministries, leadership of UIDAI etc, were offered to lateral entrants without following any due process.

“... 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, alleging instances of favouritism in the appointments. Our Government has tried to make the process institutionally driven, transparent and open, he said.

For PM Modi reservation in public employment is a “cornerstone of our social justice framework…,” he said, adding that the constitutional mandate has to be respected to ensure rightful representation of the marginalised communities.

He further urged the Commission to review this provision in the new notification and cancel the current advertisement.

Notably, two partners in the National Democratic Alliance, the Janata Dal (United) and the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), also opposed the move while strongly advocating for reservation provision in any government appointment. Both parties are part of the coalition government led by Modi.

The UPSC had invited applications to fill 45 posts at various levels in the central government offices on a contractual basis for three years.

The issue turned into a major political slugfest between the Opposition and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, with allegations that the saffron party is attempting to bypass the reservation system, which grants representation to OBCs, SCs and STs in the government institutions.

On the Centre's latest letter, the Congress and other INDIA parties welcomed the move but maintained that the government was forced to take back the notice due to the Opposition's mounting pressure.