Under the direction of Prime Minister Modi, the UPSC lateral entry recruitment advertisement has been canceled, following opposition and allied parties’ protests.

On the instructions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has issued an order to cancel the lateral entry recruitment advertisement released on August 17, 2024. Opposition parties, particularly Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, and government ally parties had raised concerns about this recruitment process. Personnel and Training Minister Jitendra Singh wrote to UPSC Chairperson Preeti Sudan, requesting the cancellation of this advertisement following Prime Minister Modi’s instructions. On August 17, 2024, UPSC had advertised lateral entry recruitment for 45 positions of Secretary and Additional Secretary to be filled in various ministries. However, the lack of reservation provisions in this recruitment process led to dissatisfaction among various social and political groups.

In response, Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is attempting to destroy the constitution with a ‘distorted version’ of Ram Rajya and is trying to strip away reservation rights for marginalized communities. He called it an attack on Dalits, OBCs, and Adivasis and highlighted the issue on the social media platform ‘X’. Gandhi also claimed that Prime Minister Modi is attempting to recruit public servants through the RSS instead of UPSC, which he considers a direct attack on the constitution.

Government ally Chiranjeevi Paswan also expressed concern about this recruitment process, stating that reservation in any government appointment is essential. He noted that while there is no reservation in the private sector, the absence of reservation in government positions is alarming and that he will raise this issue before the central government.

In his letter, Jitendra Singh mentioned that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a supporter of reservation in public service and that his government is committed to strengthening social justice. He requested UPSC Chairperson Preeti Sudan to review and cancel the advertisement released on August 17.

The letter also referenced the initiation of lateral entry during the UPA government, mentioning that the central government first considered it in 2005 under the chairmanship of Veerappa Moily, and discussions on such appointments took place in 2013 during the UPA government. It also discussed the appointment of super bureaucracy in UIDAI and the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

In light of the protests against the lateral entry process, the government decided to cancel the recruitment advertisement. This decision indicates that the government has opted to amend its policy considering the sensitivity of various societal groups regarding the reservation issue.