“Bye, bye UPSC”: Rahul slams PMO proposal on Civil Services allocation

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday, May 22 slammed the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) request to the Department of Personnel and Training, to examine if civil services allocation of successful candidates can be done after the completion of Union Public Service Commission foundation course, according to an official communique. Rahul Gandhi alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plan was to appoint officers of RSS’s choice.

“Rise up students, your future is at risk! RSS wants what’s rightfully yours. The letter below reveals the PM’s plan to appoint officers of RSS’s choice into the Central Services, by manipulating the merit list using subjective criteria, instead of exam rankings", tweeted the Congress President.

The proposal could entail a major change in the allocation of services to successful candidates of civil services examination. At present, service allocation to successful candidates in the civil services examination, conducted by UPSC, is made well before the commencement of the foundation course. The duration of foundation course for officers of almost all the services is three months.

The PMO wants to examine if service allocation/cadre allocation to probationers selected on the basis of the examination can be made after foundation course. "Examine the feasibility of giving due weightage to the performance in the Foundation Course and making service allocation as well as cadre allocation to All India Service Officers, based on the combined score obtained in the Civil Services Examination and the Foundation Course,” said the official communication.

Yesterday, on May 21, the Congress had alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “main objective is to destroy institutions” as it opposed the central government’s proposed changes in the civil services allocation. The party said “The proposed cadre allotment of IAS/ IPS on the merit of foundation course is saffronisation of bureaucracy, on the direction of RSS” and added it would raise the issue in Parliament.