Sravasti Dasgupta 
New Delhi: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Saturday (August 17) advertised vacancies for 45 key posts – including ten joint secretary and 35 director/deputy secretary-level posts – through lateral entry, in a move that has been described by the opposition parties as a “well-planned conspiracy” to keep out reservations in senior Union government posts.
In July, MoS Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Jitendra Singh in response to a question by Nagina MP Chandra Shekhar who sought the total number of SCs, STs and OBCs appointed through lateral entry till date, said that such details are not required to be maintained.
“Details relating to category of the selected candidates are not required to be maintained for making lateral recruitment, as reservation is not applicable for appointment to single post cadres,” he said in his response.
According to the UPSC’s advertisement released on Saturday, hiring for all 45 posts will be on a contract basis for a period of three years that can be extended to five years depending on performance. The last date to submit applications is September 17.
“The Government of India has submitted the requisitions for Lateral Recruitment of Joint Secretary and Director/Deputy Secretary level Officers. Accordingly, on line Applications are invited from talented and motivated Indian nationals willing to contribute towards nation building to join the Government at the level of Joint Secretary or Director/Deputy Secretary in the under mentioned posts in different Ministries/Departments with Headquarters at New Delhi on Contract Basis (On Deputation for officers of States/UT Cadres, Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), Autonomous Bodies, Statutory Organization, Universities, Recognized Research Institutes) for a period of three years (Extendable to five years depending upon performance) through website https://www.upsconline.nic.in by 17th September, 2024,” the advertisement reads.
It also says that Union government employees are not allowed to apply for these posts.
The ten joint secretary posts are in ministries including home, finance and steel. The 35 vacancies for director/deputy secretary-level posts are in the ministries of agriculture & farmers’ welfare, civil aviation and information & broadcasting among others.
Singh’s response in parliament also said that lateral recruitment at the levels of joint secretary, director and deputy secretary in the Union government had been undertaken since 2018 “to appoint persons for specific assignments”, “keeping in view their specialised knowledge and expertise in the domain area.”
“So far 63 appointments have been made through lateral entry out of which 35 appointments have been from [the] private sector. Presently, 57 officers are in position in ministries/departments.”
The UPSC’s advertisement has received criticism from opposition parties, who have called it an attack on reservations.
Congress president and leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, in a post on X asked if there will be reservations for these posts.
“The BJP, which has ripped apart the constitution, has launched a double attack on reservation! First, today the Modi government has issued an advertisement to fill at least 45 posts of joint secretary, directors and deputy secretaries at the Centre through lateral entry. Is there reservation for SC, ST, OBC and EWS in this?” he wrote in Hindi.
“As part of a well-planned conspiracy, the BJP is deliberately making such recruitments in jobs so that SC, ST and OBC categories can be kept away from reservation.”
Congress MP and former party president Rahul Gandhi echoed Kharge’s views and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was “attacking the constitution by recruiting public servants through [the] Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh instead of the [UPSC]”.
“I have always said that the underprivileged are not represented in all the top positions in the country, including the top bureaucracy. Instead of improving this, they are being pushed further away from top positions through lateral entry,” Gandhi also said.
He added that a “prime example” of what the “representatives of a few corporates” would do by holding important government positions was that of the Securities Exchange Board of India – an implicit reference to recent allegations of conflict of interest on part of the market regulator’s chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch, who was its first chair to have come from the private sector.
“‘Privatisation of IAS’ is ‘Modi’s guarantee’ to end reservation,” Gandhi alleged.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MP P. Wilson said that the UPSC’s advertisement showed how the Modi government has undermined reservations.
“The following advertisement issued by UPSC today is a classic example of how the organisation has disregarded the constitutional mandate to follow reservations meant for SC/ST and OBCs in [the] recruitment process, which is a fraudulent practice,” he said.
Jitendra Meena, a spokesperson for the Bharat Adivasi Party, referred to the lateral entry in top Union government posts as a “scam”.
“The Modi government is making STs and SCs fight among themselves by dividing the posts of peons through the Supreme Court and on the other hand, in the name of lateral entry and NFS [not found suitable], they are filling higher posts with upper caste people only,” he said.
Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) leader Chandra Shekhar Aazad alleged that the Modi government “made about 52 appointments between 2017 and 2023 on the posts of joint secretary, deputy secretary and director in various ministries in the name of lateral entry”, where “no reservation was given”.
“Now once again, an advertisement has come for 45 posts … it can be said that the undeclared qualification for these posts is that the candidate should be associated with the Sangh and should work politically for the ideology of the BJP,” Aazad also said.
The Wire has reported that the Supreme Court’s decision last month allowing states to sub-categorise for the purpose of granting separate quotas for those who are more backward among Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes has given rise to questions of implementation and whether such a sub-classification will serve the purpose of addressing discrimination, backwardness and social and moral justice.
Rashtriya Janata Dal leader and former Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav said that the lateral entry advertisement was a “small example” of how the Modi government was playing a “dirty joke” and playing with reservations provided under B.R. Ambedkar’s constitution.
He said that if these 45 posts were filled through civil service examinations, it would have led to at least 22 or 23 candidates from Dalit, tribal and backward communities filling these posts.
“The Modi government is ending reservation in a very systematic, planned and cunning manner,” he said.