The Rising People’s Party (RPP) has strongly appealed to the ruling NDPP-BJP coalition to uphold the sanctity of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) by refraining from facilitating alleged “backdoor” entries into the prestigious civil service.

In a press statement, the RPP accused the government of discarding established recruitment norms and “throwing every rule book into the dustbin” by inducting individuals arbitrarily into the IAS cadre. “To throw every rule book into the dustbin by inducting tom, dick and harry into the IAS through backdoor, bypassing all government rules and norms, is but the fruit of an oppositionless government,” the statement read.

The party highlighted the distinction between “ex-cadre” and “cadre” employees, pointing out that while the latter are appointed through standard recruitment processes such as the Nagaland Public Service Commission (NPSC), the former are often temporary or arbitrarily appointed staff. In many cases, ex-cadre employees are seen as backdoor appointees, the RPP claimed.

Raising concern over the issue flagged by several associations — CANSSEA, FONSESA, NSSA, and NF&ASA — the RPP recalled a similar instance from several years ago when a backdoor appointee was allegedly inducted into the IAS. At that time, the incident went largely unnoticed due to a lack of public awareness and the absence of an active opposition, it claimed.

Now that the controversy is in the public domain, the RPP has urged CANSSEA, FONSESA, NSSA, and NF&ASA  to disclose the name of the particular officer/current IAS candidate who is allegedly receiving undue political favoritism. The party has also sought clarification on whether the candidate in question was initially appointed through a backdoor route appointee as far as his/her entry point into the service is concerned.

Describing the controversy as a “prime example of how manipulative an oppositionless government can be,” the RPP welcomed the strong opposition voiced by the four associations, calling their stance a “step in the right direction.”

The RPP reaffirmed its support for CANSSEA, FONSESA, NSSA, and NF&ASA, stating that it will stand with them to ensure that “unqualified and undeserving candidates do not pollute the system.”