No ban on hiring for government jobs, says Centre after Rahul Gandhi alleges freezing of govt jobs

Hours after Congress MP Rahul Gandhi raised questions on the freezing of government jobs, the Ministry of Finance clarified that there were no restrictions on filling up posts in the Government of India, on Saturday.

The circular tweeted by the Ministry of Finance stated, “There is no restriction or ban on filling up of posts in Govt of India. Normal recruitments through govt agencies like Staff Selection Commission, UPSC, Rlwy Recruitment Board, etc will continue as usual without any curbs."

The Department of Expenditure circular, issued on Friday, highlighted the need to curb spending amid the current economic crisis, but will not impact or curtail recruitment for government jobs.

"The Dept. of Expenditure circular dated 04 Sept 2020 deals with internal procedure for creation of posts and does NOT in any way affect or curtail recruitment," the Ministry of Finance tweeted to clarify some points of the circular.

The circular also adds that there will be a “ban on creation of new posts, except with the approval of Department of Expenditure, in Ministries/Departments, Attached Offices, Subordinate Offices, Statutory Bodies and Autonomous Bodies."

To curtail expenditure, there will be no printing/ publishing of books, documents, etc done on imported paper. Events such as celebrations on Founder’s day, etc might be curtailed, if not avoided, the circular added.

The row surfaced after Rahul Gandhi raised questions of the minimization of the government's working and it's aim on maximizing privatization. He tweeted, "Covid is just an excuse, the government’s plan is to free government offices of all permanent staff, steal the youth’s future and propel his own friends forward.”