Coming as it does in the wake of the episode of probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar selected under disability criteria, a senior bureaucrat from Telangana courted controversy by questioning the need for a quota for the specially-abled in the civil services.

Following her post on social media platform ‘X’ questioning the quota for the specially-abled, Smita Sabharwal, the member secretary of the Telangana Finance Commission came under fire not only from Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi and Supreme Court advocate Karuna Nundy but also from former civil servant and activist Bala Latha Mallavarapu, who called on the state chief minister to take action against the bureaucrat under conduct rules.

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Smita Sabharwal, a 2001 batch IAS officer of Telangana Cadre, questioned the specially-abled quota citing the field work and long taxing hours required for All-India Service Officers. In her post on ‘X’, she wrote “With all due respect to the differently-abled. Does an airline hire a pilot with a disability? Or would you trust a surgeon with a disability? The nature of the AIS (IAS/IPS/IFoS) is field work, long taxing hours, and listening firsthand to people’s grievances -which requires physical fitness. Why does this premier service need this quota in the first place!”

Her post drew sharp criticism from Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi who dismissed her views as “pathetic and exclusionary”. Senior Supreme Court Advocate Karuna Nundy called her out for being “fundamentally ignorant about disability” pointing out that disability has no impact on stamina or intelligence.

Then the IAS officer who was previously posted at the chief minister’s office (CMO) during the BRS government, further wrote, “… 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. To live in an inclusive society is a dream that we all subscribe to. Insensitivity has no place in my mind.”

However, differently-abled UPSC Civil Services trainer Balalatha Mallavarapu demanded a public apology from Sabharwal within 24 hours while accusing her of discrimination and undermining the decisions of Parliament and the judiciary. “Her comments are derogatory, acrimonious, atrocious, and reprehensible. They are not justifiable and against the Constitution, Constitutional values (and) plurality, she said while threatening to launch a protest on Tank Bund.