Ashwini Vaishnaw's Shallow Defence of Lateral Entry Ad – Now Withdrawn – Vindicates Opposition

This piece was first published on The India Cable – a premium newsletter from The Wire & Galileo Ideas – and has been republished here. To subscribe to The India Cable, click here.

A controversial advertisement issued by the Union Public Service Commission on August 17 inviting applications of so-called “talented and motivated Indian nationals” for their lateral entry to 45 senior bureaucratic positions has been withdrawn today, barely three days later.

The Modi-led government’s decision to take a U-turn on this matter – even as it had earlier sought to mock the Congress and other opposition parties for protesting against it for not providing reservation for SCs, STs, and OBCs – has most likely been precipitated by the stand taken by two allies – the JD(U) and LJP.

Also read: Amid Pressure from Allies and Opposition, Centre Makes a U-Turn on Lateral Entry Hires

Social justice plank invoked to withdraw ad

Tellingly, Union minister for department of personnel and training Jitendra Singh cited the need of social justice in his letter to the UPSC asking that the ad be withdrawn:

“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.”

Another Union minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, who as information and broadcasting minister may be seen as the government’s spokesperson, earlier sought to counter the Congress’s protests by reminding it that one of its leaders, Veerappa Moily, who headed the Second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC), had in his 2008 report recommended the concept of lateral entry for the bureaucracy and that the Modi Government had merely implemented it.

With the withdrawal of the ad, Vaishnaw posted on X: “The decision to align lateral entry with principles of reservation shows PM Shri @narendramodi Ji’s commitment to social justice.”

Also read: UPSC Advertises 45 Posts for Lateral Hires; Opposition Says ‘Modi’s Guarantee’ to End Reservation

Shallow defence

The truth is that Vainshaw selectively cited the Second ARC report to desperately defend the Modi regime. First of all, the lateral entry policy did not originate with the second ARC. It existed prior to that. In  fact, the first ARC headed by K. Hanumanthaiya in its 11th report, “Personnel Administration” 1969, acknowledged that the lateral entry of those with skills and expertise from outside could be justified provided that such persons are not available in civil service.

It then sharply noted: “…arbitrariness in selecting the right quality of personnel may well demoralise serving personnel to an extent which would far outweigh the benefits likely to accrue from lateral entry.”

Secondly, a close look at the Second ARC report makes it clear that the defence mounted by Vaishnaw is specious and misleading. In the UPSC ad, while eligible people serving in the private sector were invited to apply, those in government service were inexplicably barred from doing so. Vainshaw conveniently ignored the fact that in preventing government personnel from applying for those 45 posts, the Modi regime had flagrantly negated the recommendation of the Second ARC. In its  10th Report, “Refurbishing of  Personnel Administration – Scaling New Heights” it recommended that for posts earmarked for lateral entry, applications would be invited from eligible persons from the open market and also from serving officers.

It is quite illuminating that the Second ARC recommended creating a statutory Central Civil Services Authority (CCSA) under the Civil Service Act for dealing with all matters, including shortlisting of persons, for lateral entry. Vaishnaw, who selectively – and of course, wrongly – invoked the Second ARC to defend Modi’s lateral entry policy and try and neutralise Congress criticism of it, remained oblivious to its most seminal recommendation: that the head of the CCSA and its other members would be selected by the Prime Minister in consultation with the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. Mindful of the fact that creation of a CCSA by statute might take time, it recommended setting the body up under executive orders.

Opposition stands vindicated

Sadly, neither the UPA nor the Modi-led governments created the CCSA. But the Modi regime – which so far has filled 63 posts laterally since 2018 without factoring in the representation of SCs, STs and OBCs – ought to have taken the initiative to set it up. Especially since it is now accusing the earlier Congress-led regime of ‘ad-hocism’ for the (limited) lateral hires which happened during its rule. Instead, it unilaterally acted to laterally recruit a large number from the private sector and bar government applicants – all without consulting the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, and even its allies, two of which objected to it.

The withdrawal of the ad represents a victory for the opposition, which exposed the fact that the lateral entry policy of the Modi regime is bereft of social justice and inclusion. It is the Opposition’s narrative that has prevailed this time and the Modi regime has been forced to bring its policies in line with it.

S N Sahu Served as Officer on Special Duty to President of India K R Narayanan.