Union min writes to UPSC to withdraw advertisement for lateral entry recruitments

In a letter to UPSC chairman Preeti Sudan, Union minister Jitendra Singh has written that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stressed that the “process of lateral entry must be aligned with the principles of equity and social justice enshrined in our Constitution, particularly concerning the provisions of reservation”. HT has seen a copy of the letter.

The issue was raised by the Congress through party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi over the weekend. The government pushed back, saying the scheme began in the earlier United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government and pointed to several lateral entrants – including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh – brought in by previous regimes. But its own ally and union minister Chirag Paswan on Monday said that he would push for a review of the scheme to ensure reservation norms are adhered to.

Jitendra Singh underlined in his letter to Sudan the importance of upholding the constitutional mandate towards social justice so that deserving candidates from marginalised communities get their rightful representation in government services. “Since these positions have been treated as specialized and designated as single-cadre posts, there has been no provision for reservation in these appointments,” he wrote. He added this aspect needs to be reviewed and reformed in the context of the Prime Minister’s focus on ensuring social justice.