HYDERABAD: In the midst of controversy over recruitment of probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar under disability quota, senior Telangana IAS officer Smita Sabharwal has stirred a row by questioning the need for disability quotas in All India Services. Taking to X, Sabharwal said, “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? The nature of #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 first place?” Her post garnered sharp reactions .
Bala Latha Mallavarapu, an ex-bureaucrat who trains civil service aspirants, condemned Sabharwal’s statement. Quoting Shakespeare, Mallavarapu said: “In nature there’s no blemish, but the mind. None can be called deformed but the unkind.
” Mallavarapu also questioned how she can make such comments despite being in a senior position. Mallavarapu further said, “You are in a responsible position. My first question is how can you make such statements? Whether to give reservation or not is government policy.
Secondly, in prime positions in administration, mental and intellectual fitness is more important than physical fitness. Thirdly, a civil servant should have compassion and empathy. I can’t see these qualities in her.
” Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi posted, “T.