New Delhi: The decision to abandon an attempt to recruit 45 people through lateral entry into senior government positions is the third such case in less than 75 days of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third term and signals the precarious position the alliance government is in.
The opposition has tasted blood and claims that the government is already in “rollback” mode, citing cases such as the withdrawal of the budget announcement on indexation and the shelving of the Broadcasting Bill.
Some add the decision to refer the Wakf (Amendment) Bill to a joint parliamentary panel and compare it to how the ruling BJP pushed through the triple talaq bill during Modi 2.0.
One of the most striking aspects of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) decision to withdraw the job advertisement is that the decision to recruit skilled workers rests with the Ministry of Personnel, which reports directly to the Prime Minister.
The pressure exerted by the opposition and its BJP allies JD(U), LJP (Ramvilas) and HAM was so great that the government had to backtrack within three days of the advertisement being published and hours after the advertisement was vigorously defended by two senior ministers, one of whom was a Dalit.
In the defence sector, senior ministers Ashwani Vaishnaw and Arjun Ram Meghwal had cited the recommendation of the UPA-era Second Administrative Reforms Commission and, among other things, pointed to the recruitment of Manmohan Singh and Montek Singh Alhuwalia and asked whether the quota principles were being followed.
While 63 people have been appointed through the lateral route since 2018, the government has not given any figures for those appointed through the lateral route before 2014. The letter to the UPSC by Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh has described the “infamous” National Advisory Council once led by Sonia Gandhi as a “super bureaucracy”.
Congress general secretary (communication) Jairam Ramesh hit back, saying that the same ministers “have suddenly been thrown off course and are now forced to praise Modi as a champion of social justice.” “There is no limit to hypocrisy,” he said.
The leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, immediately attacked the government, saying that the Congress party would “thwart conspiracies like the BJP’s entry at all costs” and ensure social justice on the basis of caste by exceeding the 50 percent limit for reservations.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge pointed to the withdrawal of decisions on indexation, the referral of the Wakf Amendment Bill to a parliamentary committee and the “postponement of the Broadcasting Act”, saying that these showed the power of the people and the opposition in saving the country.
While senior RJD MP Manoj K Jha said the government was “literally forced to take back the decision” and that it was “not an everyday feat”, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav claimed, “The BJP’s conspiracies are not succeeding at present. This is a major victory of awakening and sensitisation of the PDA (Pichde (Backward), Dalits, Adivasis)”.
The fact that the BJP failed to cross the 272-seat majority mark in the Lok Sabha, settling at 240 seats, appears to have influenced its decision-making process, even as the party seeks to reflect Modi’s prudence in ensuring social justice through its decision to “review” the lateral entry process.
Since the beginning of the third term, the Modi government has faced discontent over the Agnipath scheme from allies like JD(U) and TDP. The BJP, once a proponent of sub-classification of SCs, was also not in a hurry to celebrate the Supreme Court verdict as its allies LJP (Ramvilas) raised objections to it.
Published 20 August 2024, 11:11 IS
