Was Modi defeated by Rahul Gandhi’s lateral entry reservation strategy, this formula was a hit in the Lok Sabha elections

New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government at the center recently put a stop on the notification issued by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for the recruitment of 45 joint secretaries, directors and deputy secretaries through lateral entry. Actually, this decision of the Center came when the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, said that recruitment through lateral entry is an ‘anti-national step’. he/she alleged that such action is openly snatching away the reservation of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is attacking the Constitution by recruiting public servants through RSS instead of UPSC. At the same time, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had also warned of agitation in this matter. Even NDA allies JDU and LJP were opposing it. Only TDP was in support of it. In such a situation, questions are arising whether the move to withdraw lateral entry recruitment has put Modi on the back foot? Or was it the pressure of allies. Let’s understand this. Do you also know how many people from Other Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes occupy top positions in the country and how much substance is there in Rahul’s claims?

How correct is Rahul’s allegation about representation of the deprived in bureaucracy?

Rahul said- I have always said that the underprivileged are not represented in all the top positions in the country, including top bureaucrats. Instead of improving it, they are being pushed further away from top positions through ‘lateral entry’. This is a robbery of the rights of talented youth preparing for UPSC and an attack on the concept of social justice including reservation for the underprivileged. Lateral entry has weakened the reservation rights of OBC, SC and ST.

Are RSS people being made IAS through UPSC, know everything about lateral entry, on which Rahul Gandhi cornered Modi

Rahul got a big issue from the election itself

Political expert Dr. Rajiv Ranjan Giri says that under Article 16(4) of the Indian Constitution, a provision has been made that if in the eyes of the state, any backward class is not adequately represented in government jobs, then the government can take measures to provide reservation in jobs to that class or classes. he/she says that Rahul had also tried the reservation card in the Lok Sabha elections, which was quite successful. At that time, in the election, Rahul had said that the BJP is giving the slogan of crossing 400 because if the government comes with full majority, the BJP will end reservation by making constitutional amendment. This will be an attack on the Constitution. This narrative of Rahul reached every village. In the election results, while the UPA alliance got 239 seats, the BJP was limited to 240, far away from 272.

Why does BJP get trapped on the issue of reservation?

Dr. Rajiv Ranjan Giri, Assistant Professor at Delhi University, says that a big weakness of the BJP is that it gets cornered on the issue of reservation by the opposition during elections. Its leaders give such statements on reservation that it goes from being aggressive on this issue to being defensive. The opposition uses the issue of reservation as a political weapon. Actually, somewhere or the other, the BJP is considered a party of upper castes and businessmen. The opposition keeps capitalizing on this from time to time. In the upcoming elections too, Rahul and Akhilesh can corner the BJP on the issue of reservation.

Reality: In 5 years, 1200 people entered the bureaucracy through reserved quota

Union Cabinet Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh recently said that recruitment in Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Foreign Service (IFS) is done as per the rules of Union Public Service Commission. According to the current rules, SC gets 15%, ST gets 7.5% and OBC gets 27% reservation in UPSC Civil Service Examination. The government said that in the last 5 years, 1,195 candidates from reserved and backward class categories were selected for IAS, IPS and IFS.

When and how many IAS-IPS were selected from reserved quota

According to Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh, in 2018, 54 IAS, 40 IPS and 40 IFS officers were recruited from OBC. In the same year, 29 IAS, 23 IPS, 16 IFS were recruited from SC quota. Whereas 14 IAS, 9 IPS and 8 IFS officers were selected from ST category. In 2019, 103 IAS, 75 IPS and 53 IFS were selected.

In 2022, 100 IAS were selected from reserved quota

In 2020, 99 IAS, 74 IPS and 50 IFS officers were selected. At the same time, 97 IAS, 99 IPS and 54 IFS officers belonging to SC, ST and OBC categories were appointed during 2021. In 2022, 100 IAS, 94 IPS and 64 IFS officers were selected under these categories.

In 2022, 68 vacancies are vacant for the posts of Joint Secretary and Secretary from the quota of

In response to a question asked in the Rajya Sabha on 15 December 2022, Union Personnel Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh had informed that there are 322 posts in the Central Government at the Joint Secretary and Secretary level, out of which there are 16, 13, 39 and 254 officers from SC, ST, OBC and General (Unreserved) categories respectively. In response to a question asked in the Rajya Sabha in 2022 itself, the government informed that out of 91 Additional Secretaries of the Government of India, there are only 10 SC/ST and 4 OBC officers. At the same time, out of 245 Joint Secretaries, there are only 26 SC/ST and 29 OBC officers.

We will foil such conspiracies… Opposition’s reaction including Rahul Gandhi on cancellation of lateral entry

The problem is going on since the UPA regime

According to Dr. Rajiv Ranjan Giri, as per the data of 2015, out of 70 secretaries in the UPA government, there was no OBC and only 3 SC and ST. Out of 278 joint secretaries, only 24 were OBC, while 10 were SC and 10 were ST.

What is lateral entry, on which there was controversy

Lateral entry refers to the direct recruitment of experts from the private sector. Through this, posts of joint secretaries, directors and deputy secretaries are recruited in the ministries of the central government. Individuals with a minimum of 15 years of experience working at an equivalent level in private sector businesses, except those working in central public sector undertakings, autonomous agencies, academic bodies and universities, can join the bureaucracy. Such people should be at least 45 years of age and should have a minimum qualification of graduation from a recognized university or institute.

Chirag welcomed Modi’s decision

Earlier, BJP ally LJP leader and Union Minister Chirag Paswan had strongly criticized any initiative for government appointments, which is against the principles of reservation. he/she had said that such provisions are necessary in government jobs. Now that the government has withdrawn the recruitment, he/she also praised Modi for this.

JDU is also against it, said- then Rahul will become the champion of the backwards

Senior JDU leader KC Tyagi said, our party has been asking the government to fill the reserved seats from the very beginning. We believe in Ram Manohar Lohia. When people have faced backwardness in society for centuries, why are you looking for merit? They will misuse the advertisement of lateral entry. This will make Rahul Gandhi the champion of the backward. KC Tyagi believes that the government is giving an issue to the opposition through such decisions.

Lateral entry was stopped but Rajiv-Sonia’s exploits were also told, BJP’s big counter attack on Congress

Akhilesh had said- take it back or else there will be agitation from October 2

SP President Akhilesh Yadav has called lateral entry a big conspiracy against the country. he/she has urged the officers and youth that if the BJP government does not withdraw it, then they should stand shoulder to shoulder with us in starting a new movement from October 2.

Mayawati said- this is a direct violation of the constitution

BSP supremo Mayawati said that the decision of direct recruitment to 45 higher posts of various categories in the Centre is not correct because the employees working on lower posts through direct recruitment will be deprived of the benefits of promotion. She said that if people from SC, ST and OBC categories are not given appointment in proportion to their quota in these government appointments, then it will be a direct violation of the Constitution.

Ashwini Vaishnav said – this is the double policy of Congress

Minister in the Modi government, Ashwini Vaishnav, took the lead in this matter and said that this is the double policy of the Congress. The UPA government itself had started lateral entry in 2005. The second Administrative Reforms Commission, constituted under the chairmanship of senior Congress president Veerappa Moily, had recommended the recruitment of experts on posts requiring experts. The NDA government implemented it in a transparent manner.

Such a system also exists in Britain, America and Australia

Lateral entry is a system only in India. Western countries like the UK, the US, Australia, the Netherlands and Belgium have already opened specific government positions to qualified personnel from all fields. This has been found to be a better way to attract the best talent for the job.

Why was there opposition to recruitment through lateral entry

Many people are of the opinion that lateral entry can demoralize government officials, which can affect their performance. The difference in work culture and institutional inertia will affect the best performance of government officials. They may face difficulty in adjusting. On the other hand, people coming from outside may not understand the system completely. Apart from this, officers made through lateral entry will not have as much experience as IAS officers. They may lack knowledge of practical aspects and may have more urban mentality. This will affect policy making at the higher level. The biggest fear of lateral entry is that it will lead to the appointment of government-supported candidates, which the government can take advantage of in some unfair way. Apart from this, there is also a concern that such officers may make policies favorable to business houses or there may be pressure on them.