Amid clamour over the contentious issue of lateral entry into government services, former Union Law Minister M Veerappa Moily accepted that the second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC), which he chaired in 2005, recommended such practices. However, he has sharply criticised the BJP-led NDA government for not adhering to the guidelines set forth by the ARC.

Lateral entry involves recruiting from outside established service cadres, like the Indian Administrative Service, to fill mid and senior-level positions in central and state ministries. Moily stated that the intent was to establish a framework for non-partisan, unbiased recruitment of experts into high government roles.

This comes amid a heated debate between the BJP and Congress, which accuses the BJP of denying SCs, STs, and OBCs their reservation rights. While the BJP blames the UPA for biased policies.

Congress leaders, including Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, along with other INDIA bloc parties, also allege that the process aims to recruit officials loyal to the BJP’s ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Moily criticised the NDA government’s approach, noting that it assigned the recruitment task to the UPSC (Union Public Service Commission), which he argues is not competent for senior-level appointments. “The UPSC is only for entry-level recruitment,” Moily explained. “It lacks the expertise needed for higher-level posts. There should be a competent body, established by an Act of Parliament, for this purpose,” the veteran politician told NDTV.

He objected to the UPSC’s recent notice seeking “talented and motivated Indian nationals” for 45 senior posts, including Joint Secretary, across 24 ministries and departments. Moily argued that a Civil Services Authority should be created for such recruitment.

On Monday, the government retracted its advertisement for lateral entry into the civil services, following intense protests from the opposition and concerns raised by ally Union Minister Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas). Prime Minister Narendra Modi has directed that such initiatives should be “aligned with social justice,” according to a government statement to the UPSC.

Moily, explaining the historical context, noted that lateral entry has been practiced since the days of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, and Dr Manmohan Singh. “No one is opposed to the concept in principle,” he said, but said that it must be handled with caution, especially at leadership levels.

The former Union minister criticised what he described as a “mindset problem” in the current government. He urged that SC, ST, and OBC candidates should not be viewed as “second-rate” citizens. “In the Puranas, the Saptarishis were from SC and OBC backgrounds. This is part of India’s tradition,” he said. “Expose these individuals to opportunities and challenges, and they will compete on equal footing with anyone globally.”

Citing Dr Manmohan Singh and Montek Singh Ahluwalia as examples of successful lateral entries, Moily stated that while there was no formal system in place at the time, merit-based recruitment had yielded positive results.

“If the UPSC were in charge, even Dr Manmohan Singh, who was a lateral entry, would never have been considered for such roles,” he added.

He added that the ARC recommended implementing lateral entry at the Additional Secretary level, enabling new recruits to aspire to reach the Secretary rank. “We proposed this after studying various models from the US, Australia, Britain, and other countries. We thoroughly examined these models before designing one suited for India,” he explained.

The ARC suggested that lateral entry should not be an ad-hoc process and that a selective approach would be ineffective. A Central Civil Services Authority was proposed to handle lateral recruitment in a structured manner. “As far as I know, the current government has not established such an Authority. This body was intended to identify appropriate posts and manage the hiring of senior-level staff where external expertise would be beneficial,” he said.

Talent should be sourced from both outside and within the system, with a transparent procedure for recruitment, he said.

When questioned about the origins of the rules for lateral entry, Moily clarified that the idea did not come from Dr Manmohan Singh or anyone else specifically. “The view was that new and fresh talent should be introduced into governance, particularly in areas requiring specific expertise. This could be from within or outside the services,” he said.

“If the BJP adheres to all the guidelines and recommendations, we would have no objections. Lateral entry is essentially a talent search. It should follow the guidelines and parameters specified in the ARC report. The BJP’s current approach is likely to fail and demoralise the cadre,” the Congress leader said.