SP, BSP say UP govt's lateral entry move violates Constitution

'Time has come to launch a nationwide movement against the conspiracy of the BJP to appoint its ideological allies to high government posts in UPSC through the back door', charged SP chief Akhilesh Yadav.

Lucknow: The Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party have slammed the government's move seeking applications for lateral entry into the bureaucracy, terming it as the BJP's "conspiracy" to appoint its ideological allies to high posts through the back door. SP chief Akhilesh Yadav also warned of an agitation on this issue from October 2.

In a post on 'X', Yadav said, "Time has come to launch a nationwide movement against the conspiracy of the BJP to appoint its ideological allies to high government posts in UPSC through the back door." "This method will close the way for today's officers as well as the youth to reach higher posts in the present and future. Common people will be limited to clerks and peons only. In fact, the whole trick is to snatch reservation and their rights from PDA (backward, Dalit and minorities)," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister charged.

"Now that BJP has come to know that PDAs across the country have woken up against the BJP's trick to abolish the Constitution, it wants to deny reservation on some other pretext by making direct recruitment to such posts. The BJP government should immediately withdraw it because it is also not in national interest. The BJP wants to get arbitrary work done by keeping officers of its party ideology in the government," he charged.

He asserted that people who become officers by the grace of the government can never be impartial and that the integrity of such people will also always be questioned. "Officers and youth across the country are requested that if the BJP government does not withdraw it, then stand shoulder to shoulder with us in starting a new movement from October 2," he said.

The SP chief said his party will not tolerate corporates taking on the government system because their capitalist thinking is to earn maximum profit.

"Such thinking depends on the exploitation of others, whereas our 'socialist thinking' is for the nourishment and welfare of the poor, farmers, labourers, employed, common people doing their own small work-business-shop. This is a big conspiracy against the country," he claimed.

BSP chief Mayawati also flayed the decision, saying employees working on lower posts will be deprived of the benefit of promotion.

"Along with this, if the people of 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," she said.

"Filling these high posts with direct appointments without making any rules will be the arbitrariness of the BJP government, which will be illegal and unconstitutional," she said.

Forty-five specialists will soon be joining key posts of joint secretaries, directors and deputy secretaries in different central ministries as part of the Modi government's ambitious plan to infuse fresh talent to further improve ease of governance.

Usually, such posts are filled by officers from the All India Services - Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Forest Service (IFoS) - and other 'Group A' services.

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Saturday advertised for 45 posts, including 10 joint secretaries and 35 directors/deputy secretaries.

These posts are to be filled through 'lateral entry' on contract basis.