BSP chief Mayawati asserted on Tuesday that the Centre has withdrawn its advertisement for lateral entry into the bureaucracy after her party raised strong objections. She said such anti-reservation steps need to be curbed.
Amidst controversy over reservation issues relating to the advertised posts, the Centre told the UPSC on Tuesday to withdraw the recent notice for lateral recruitment. Mayawati termed the move and said the Centre scrapped the appointments of 47 candidates through lateral entry up to the executive cadre grade, including the rank of Joint Secretary and Director, without giving them promotions or awarding reservations regularly. She pressed for discontinuation of all anti-reservation measures at every level.
Mayawati demanded constitutional amendments to bring back the previous reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and challenged the Supreme Court ruling of August 1, 2024. She called for the "Bharat Bandh" to be observed on Tuesday with a peaceful protest and asked them not to get into any kind of violence.
The UPSC had announced on August 17 a recruitment drive for 45 posts of Joint Secretaries, Directors, and Deputy Secretaries through lateral entry. Following up the same aim of bringing specialists from different sectors, the move was opposed by opposition parties who claimed that this compromised reservation rights of SCs, STs, and Other Backward Classes.