Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, described the government’s decision to hire public servants through lateral entry (the appointment of private sector specialists in government departments) on Sunday as an “anti-national step,” claiming that it is “openly snatching away” the reservations of SCs, STs, and OBCs.
Rahul Gandhi claims “lateral entry” to central ministries as a robbery of the rights of talented youth preparing for the UPSC
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to the former president of the Congress, is “attacking the Constitution by recruiting public servants through the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) instead of the Union Public Service Commission.”
Gandhi launched his attack in response to news that 45 experts would soon be appointed to important positions in various federal ministries as joint secretaries, directors, and deputy secretaries.
These positions are typically filled by officers from Group A services as well as the all-India services, which include the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), and Indian Forest Service (IFOs).
Gandhi wrote in Hindi on X that the “reservation of SC, ST, and OBC classes is being openly snatched away by recruiting through lateral entry on important posts in various ministries of the central government.”
“I have consistently argued that the poor lack representation in all high positions in the nation, even the highest levels of bureaucracy. Through lateral entrance, they are being pushed farther away from the top posts rather than improving it, he claimed.
He claimed, “This is an attack on the concept of social justice, including reservation for the underprivileged, and a robbery of the rights of talented youth preparing for the UPSC.”
A reference to the conflicts of interest allegations against SEBI chairperson Madhabi Buch, Gandhi said, “the SEBI is a vivid example of what representatives of a few corporates will do by sitting on decisive government posts where for the first time a person from the private sector was made the chairperson.”
Gandhi stated that the INDIA bloc will fiercely oppose this “anti-national step” that undermines social justice and the administrative system.
“Privatization of the IAS is Modi’s guarantee for ending reservation,” he said.
45 positions—10 for joint secretaries and 35 for directors/deputy secretaries—were advertised by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Saturday. These positions will be filled through lateral entry on a contract basis. According to an official, it’s the Center’s largest batch of lateral hiring yet.
