Killing Democracy in India Through Lateral Entry Into Civil Services


Modi/RSS/BJP killing democracy in India: appointing senior bureaucrats without procedure established by law.

The DoPT published an advertisement inviting applications for the ten posts at the level of Joint Secretary, the advertisement called it a lateral entry, The issue of lateral entry in the bureaucracy is an issue of national importance and it poses an open threat to the idea of India for a number of reasons.

In India, the structure of democracy relies on three organs: legislative, executive, and judiciary. The constitution of India created these three organs of governance through meticulous check and balance mechanism. Out of these bodies, the legislative assembly members are elected directly by the people.

Read also – Why We Oppose Lateral Entry Into Civil Services – It Undermines Reservation Policy

The executive is responsible to the parliament through the various mechanisms. Though the executive is headed by the minister, they have a steel frame of bureaucracy working with them at the level of the secretary, followed by joint secretaries, deputy secretaries, assistant secretaries, and the assistants. They form the core of decision making in the ministries and departments.

Appointing people from the public directly without having due experience in the administration is not only unconstitutional but deeply anti-constitution. The first reason is that the officials at the level of joint secretaries form the important stage in the decision making and sometimes they might not accept everything that the ministers ask for. If the joint secretaries are appointed laterally that means that they will be the part of the ruling party and hence they will only try to secure the interests of the ruling party.

It should be noted RSS/BJP has already integrated itself with the decision making of the Governance through various structural changes that are damaging the institutions in India. When there are any appointments, the social configuration of the country must be taken into account. It is likely that the Modi/RSS/BJP will only appoint the upper castes and will deny representation to India’s majority of the castes.

Author – Mangesh Dahiwale

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  1. 1
    K.Somasundaram

    It is true and appreciated that the ruling bosses need persons of same thinking as advisors to enable execution of the same. To enable this , there is constitutional provision enabling the ministers to have political personal assistants with reasonable emoluments and they do have such appointees.There is provision for them to have a ” THINK TANK ” with competent people , the expenses on which are also reimbursable. Under these circumstances , the beaurocrats are lisble for their acts of omissions & commissions , till their last breadth. However ,shutting their eyes closed for these provisions or gleefully ignorant of such provisions , this BJP govt has made a move for lateral entry at the Joint Secretaries level at the centre , which is equivalent to the position of a secretary in the states and take them on contract basis for 3 0r 5 years. Please note such contract workers will have the authority to rule over the cadre beaurocrats and treat them as subordinates , and without any responsibility or liability cast on them. Thus the politicians will weaken the constitutional structure for ever. So , this is high time to take up this issue with the Supreme Court of India immediately.Already , the autonomy of Supreme Court and Press are under pressure and threat.Let not this move of lateral entry in the beaurocracy go unchallenged,

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