Any deviation may dilute government's sensitivity, says Mamata on lateral entry
Kolkata, June 12: Raising "few concerns" on proposed government appointments through lateral entry, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said any deviation from the system, particularly by inducting professionals from non-governmental sector, notwithstanding their talent, may "dilute the sensitivity attached to the functioning of the government".
She also said there should be a "wider debate and discussion with different stakeholders" before implementing the proposed lateral entry into senior positions of the government.
"In my view, there is no objection if talented persons join the Central Government to improve its professional competence and efficiency. But I have few concerns about the issue involving various implications," she said in a Facebook post.
According to her, presently, the officers of All India/Central Services have been working in the government with "sincerity and accountability" and "maintaining secrecy, where the paramount interest of the nation remains supreme".
"In view of it, I feel that any deviation from the system, particularly by inducting professionals from non-governmental sector, notwithstanding their talent may dilute the sensitivity attached to the functioning of the government," she wrote.
Opening the doors of the bureaucracy for private sector professionals, the Central government on Sunday had invited applications for 10 Joint Secretary-level posts through lateral entry as opposed to those inducted through the UPSC exam.
Banerjee said the officers from All India Services/Central Services presently hold positions of Joint Secretary and equivalent levels in the Government of India, having been inducted in government services through transparent recruitment processes by Constitutional bodies like the UPSC. The officers are expected to be politically neutral while discharging their duties.
"Any shift from such standard will not be good for the nation," she said.
"Therefore, it is necessary to have wider debate and discussion with different stake-holders, including representatives of the All India Services/Central Services, before implementing the proposed induction of lateral entries into senior positions of the government," she said.
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'Ab kya hoga, ye rab jane...': Tharoor takes dig at failed US-Iran talks in Pakistan
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New Delhi (PTI): Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday took a swipe at the "failed" US-Iran peace talks in Pakistan with an Urdu couplet, saying only god knows now what will happen.
"Ab kya hoga, ye rab jane; Na woh mane, na ye mane (only god knows what will happen now as both sides did not agree)," Tharoor said on X, tagging a post-talks video clip of US Vice President J D Vance, who led the American delegation at the negotiations in Islamabad.
The United States and Iran failed to reach a peace deal at their historic 21-hour talks in Pakistan, leaving the fate of a tenuous two-week ceasefire in doubt, with both sides attempting to hold each other responsible for the collapse of the negotiations.
अब क्या होगा, ये रब जाने
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) April 13, 2026
ना वो माने, ना ये माने https://t.co/DYrXpa7C8h
Vance said the Iranian side did not accept Washington's terms for ending the war even as the US presented its "final and best offer".
Hours after the talks collapsed, US President Donald Trump said on social media that the negotiations with Tehran failed as "Iran is unwilling to give up its nuclear ambitions".
Trump said the US Navy will actively interdict any vessel in international waters found to have paid tolls to Iran for transiting through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route that handles roughly 20 per cent of global oil and LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas).
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the head of the Iranian negotiation team, said it is for the US to decide whether it can "earn our trust or not".
The Iranian foreign ministry, without elaborating, said the US side resorted to "excessive" and "illegal demands".
The failure to reach an agreement has dimmed the prospect of reopening the Strait of Hormuz to stabilise the global energy marke
