In a significant climbdown over lateral entry into bureaucracy, the Union government on Tuesday, August 20, asked the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to cancel the advertisement for recruitment of "people of expertise" in government departments and ministries. 

Union Minister for the Department of Personnel & Training Jitendra Singh, in a letter to the UPSC chief, reiterated Prime Minister Narendra Modi's stance on the process of lateral entry and added that there is a "need to align it with the principles of equity and social justice as enshrined in the Constitution, particularly concerning the provisions of reservation".

"While most of the major lateral entries before 2014 were made in an ad-hoc manner, including cases of alleged favouritism, efforts of our government have been to make the process institutionally driven, transparent and open," the Minister added.

"The Prime Minister is of the firm belief 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," he further added.

Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has welcomed the move and said in a social media statement that: "The decision to align lateral entry with principles of reservation shows PM Modi’s commitment to social justice.”

The move comes after BJP allies, including Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) and Janata Dal (United) opposed the proposed lateral entry for about 45 posts, without offering any reservation to the backward classes.

Congress and the INDIA bloc have launched a scathing attack on the Modi government over the move and called it an "attack on the Dalits and OBCs".

Notably, the controversy over lateral entry into bureaucracy broke after the UPSC issued an advertisement on August 17, notifying about the "vacancy" for 45 domain experts in the rank and pay of Joint Secretaries, Deputy Secretaries and Directors.

Out of 45, ten experts were to be hired as Joint Secretaries while the rest were to be "absorbed" in the ranks of Directors or deputy secretaries across ministries including finance, electronics, agriculture, environment, and renewable energy.