Hyderabad: Bala Latha Mallavarapu of CSB IAS Academy has demanded a public apology from Smita Sabharwal, an IAS officer from the Telangana cadre, for her views against the Persons with Disability (PwD) reservation in the Civil Services Examination (CSE) conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
Earlier, the IAS officer was criticized by a Supreme Court advocate and a Rajya Sabha MP for her remarks against the quota in the UPSC CSE.
Bala Latha Mallavarapu challenges Smita Sabharwal
Bala Latha Mallavarapu has challenged the IAS officer to appear for the UPSC CSE again and beat her score. The statements were made at a press conference held at the Somajiguda Press Club.
Claiming that Smita Sabharwal’s remarks undermine the decisions of the judiciary and Parliament, she questioned the qualifications of the officer to comment on the issue.
She further demanded that Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy take action against the IAS officer under the Code of Conduct.
Giving an ultimatum, she demanded an apology within 24 hours and warned of a protest at Tank Bund in case of no response.
IAS officer’s views on PwD reservation in UPSC
Amid the debate over reservation for UPSC aspirants under the PwD category, which was triggered by the scrutiny of Abhishek Singh and Puja Khedkar, the IAS officer wrote on her X handle, “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!”
Following the comment on PwD reservation in UPSC CSE, a senior advocate of the Supreme Court reacted by writing, “Amazed that an IAS officer would be so fundamentally ignorant about disability. Most disabilities have no impact on stamina. Or intelligence. But this tweet shows enlightenment and diversity are badly needed.“
Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi also reacted to the tweet and wrote, “This is such a pathetic and exclusionary view to have. Interesting to see how bureaucrats are showing their limited thoughts and their privilege too.“
Now, Bala Latha Mallavarapu demands a public apology from the IAS officer.
