Amid the ongoing row over the controversial appointment of probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar under the disability quota, senior bureaucrat in Telangana Smita Sabharwal courted controversy by questioning the need for reservation for differently-abled people in the All India Services.
Shiv Sena-UBT MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, disability rights activists and others took exception to her view.
"As this debate is blowing up, 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?" Sabharwal asked in a post on social media platform X.
"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! #justasking," she wrote in the post.
The post drew a sharp reaction from Chaturvedi, who termed it an "exclusionary" view.
"This is such a pathetic and exclusionary view to have. Interesting to see how bureaucrats are showing their limited thoughts and their privilege too," the Shiv Sena-UBT leader said on X.
Taking strong exception to Sabharwal's comments, the National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled, Telangana unit, said the Telangana government should take action against her for her post, which amounted to "insulting" persons with disabilities.
NPRD Telangana president K Venkat cited court judgments in favour of implementation of quotas for the disabled in central services.
Sabharwal's post is against the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act's guiding principle of equality, he said in a statement.
In the wake of criticism of her post, Sabharwal on Monday urged rights activists to also examine why the disability quota has not been implemented in IPS and sectors like defence and said that IAS is no different.
"(I) See a lot of outrage on my timeline. I suppose addressing the elephant in the room gets you that reaction. Would request the rights activists to also examine why this quota has still not been implemented in the IPS/ IFoS and certain sectors like defence. My limited point is that the IAS is no different," she said.
"To live in an inclusive society is a dream that we all subscribe to. Insensitivity has no place in my mind. Jai Hind," the senior IAS officer added.
Sabharwal has also responded to the comments of Chaturvedi and others on X.
Meanwhile, ex-bureaucrat Bala Latha, who trains civil services aspirants, objected to Sabharwal's view and demanded an apology from her to persons with disabilities.
The community of persons of disabilities would not hesitate to take up an indefinite fast on the issue, she said.
Observing that eligibility and suitability for "services" is a matter of public policy, which is dealt with by Parliament and the judiciary, she asked whether Sabharwal's view is personal or whether she expressed it as a representative of the government of Telangana.
Seeking to know how Sabharwal came to the conclusion that persons with disabilities cannot function effectively in civil services, Bala Latha claimed that the IAS officer's post amounts to an insult to the community of disabled persons and is also discriminatory.
