New Delhi: Terming the central government's decision to hold lateral recruitment for the post of joint secretary and director level posts on a contract basis in various ministries as unconstitutional, Rajya Sabha member and Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav on Tuesday alleged that such appointees will work on the whims of the government.
The practice will neither be in the interest of the public or of the country, the veteran leader added.
Speaking exclusively to ETV Bharat, Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav, said, "The designation of joint secretary in any ministry is of immense importance and all the decisions are made on that stage only. Following which, it is only signed by the secretaries. If people at such position will join on a contract basis, then they will work just as per government's wish because the term of any employee who refuses to follow diktats may be terminated."
The leader pointed out that only the candidates with brilliant minds are able to clear the UPSC examination and it requires an experience of at least 15 years to reach the join secretary-level designation.
"Candidates who climb up to such designations will never sign on documents which may lead them to problems in future. On the other hand, the candidates who are made joint secretaries through direct recruitment will work only on the government lines because they know that if they don't do so, they will have to lose the job," he added.
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Ram Gopal Yadav said lakhs of students prepare for this "prestigious job" and the government's decision for giving lateral entry to such positions will lead to a decrease in the number of vacancies, depriving aspirants of their rights.
The Samajwadi Party leader also underscored that this new recruitment has no reservation policy. "In contradiction, if you see the government's rule, then it clearly talks about 27% reservation for OBCs, 15% for SCs and 7.5% for STs," he added.
When ETV Bharat asked Ram Gopal Yadav about his view on the appointment of Shashank Shekhar, a non-IAS cadre official, as the Cabinet Secretary in the BSP supremo Mayawati's Uttar Pradesh government in 2007, he said, "Such positions are not for states and this happened in Mayawati government, so, I will not comment on that."
