Hyderabad: Amid the debate over reservation for UPSC aspirants under the Persons with Disabilities (PwD) category, which was triggered by the scrutiny of Abhishek Singh and Puja Khedkar, an IAS officer from the Telangana cadre, Smita Sabharwal, expressed her views.
On her X handle, she wrote, “With all due respect to the Differently Abled.
Does an Airline hire a pilot with disability? Or would you trust a surgeon with a disability.
The nature of the #AIS ( IAS/IPS/IFoS) is field-work, long taxing hours, listening first hand to people’s grievances-which requires physical fitness.
Why does this premier service need this Quota in the first place!”
Telangana IAS Officer’s view on reservation for children of AIS Officers
Agreeing with the IAS officer’s views, a netizen commented, “Similarly why should we give SC/ST/BC reservations to the children of IAS/IPS/IFS/IFoS, etc? If we don’t give them the reservation benefit, other more deserving would get into services. Lot of reforms are needed in reservations rules.“
In response, she wrote, “Should not be given.“
Following are some reactions to the Telangana IAS Officer’s:
Why Abhishek Singh, Puja Khedkar came under scrutiny
Puja Khedkar, an IAS officer trainee from the 2023 batch, was the first to face allegations of misusing reservation benefits intended for PwD candidates.
Following this controversy, former IAS officer Abhishek Singh, from the 2011 batch, also came under scrutiny for similar allegations.
Under the reservation system for the UPSC civil services examination, four percent of vacancies are reserved for candidates in the PwD category, as per the provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
However, allegations that the two IAS officers misused the reservation benefits have sparked a debate over the quota for the PwD category.
