Congressman Rahul Gandhi has come under fire from the BJP for his criticism of the Modi government’s lateral entry hiring practices in the bureaucracy, charging him with disseminating false information.
Gandhi claimed on Saturday that lateral entrance into important jobs in central government departments is “openly snatching away” the reservations for SC, ST, and OBC groups.
The Congress lawmaker wrote on X, “Narendra Modi is attacking the Constitution by recruiting public servants through ‘Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’ instead of Union Public Service Commission.”
Rahul Gandhi opposes the process of “Lateral Entry” into Central Ministries, BJP hits back
COUNTERATTACK BY BJP
Ashwini Vaishnaw, the minister of information and broadcasting, responded by accusing Congress of being hypocritical and pointing out that the UPA government, which was led by the Congress, was responsible for developing the idea of lateral entrance.
“On the subject of lateral entry, INC hypocrisy is apparent. The idea of lateral entrance was created by the UPA government. Under the UPA administration, the second Admin Reforms Commission (ARC) was founded in 2005. It was chaired by Shri Veerappa Moily, he stated in a Saturday X post.
The BJP-led NDA administration, according to Vaishnaw, has developed a “transparent method” to carry out this procedure.
Senior BJP leader Amit Malviya responded to Gandhi’s post by pointing out that, in contrast to the existing system, which adheres to set rules, the Congress had previously recruited lateral entrants “without any process.”
“In order to prevent any influence on the quota and reservation system, the Indian government has now made sure that lateral entries are made in accordance with established guidelines,” he claimed.
Malviya also highlighted government memorandum dated 2016, 2019, and 2020, which mandate adherence to reservation policies and roster maintenance for SC, ST, OBC, and persons with disabilities Additionally, he cited a communication from the Union Home Ministry from 2020 that emphasized the importance of strictly adhering to these reservation rules for lateral entrances.
WHAT IS LATERAL ENTRY?
In an advertisement released on Saturday, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) called for applications from “talented and motivated Indian nationals” to fill lateral posts in 24 Union government ministries as joint secretaries, directors, and deputy secretaries.
According to the notification, the government is looking to fill 45 opportunities for domain experts, 10 of which are at the rank of Joint Secretary, and the rest have roles as Directors or Deputy Secretaries. Several ministries, including those of finance, electronics, agriculture, the environment, and renewable energy, are hiring for these roles.
