Congress says govt's lateral entry U-turn due to criticism by Leaders of Opposition in Parliament

New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday claimed that the Centre's move to withdraw the latest advertisement for lateral entry in bureaucracy was due to the criticism by the Leaders of the Opposition in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha -- Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge -- along with others.

The remarks came after Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh wrote to Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Chairman Preeti Sudan and asked her to cancel the advertisement so that marginalised communities get their rightful representation in government services.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh tagged Singh's letter and said on X, "A letter from a Union Minister working under a non-biological PM to a Constitutional authority without a date. What pathetic governance this is."

"Even so, this is clearly the impact of the criticism of the Leaders of the Opposition in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and others," he said in another post.

Reacting to the development, Congress MP and whip in the Lok Sabha Manickam Tagore said, "2024 has given us two outcomes: a weak Prime Minister and a strong People's Leader of the Opposition. In the end, it's a victory for our Constitution." The UPSC had on August 17 issued a notification for recruiting 45 joint secretaries, directors and deputy secretaries through lateral entry -- referred to as appointment of specialists (including those from the private sector) in government departments.

The decision had ignited criticism from opposition parties, which claimed it undermined the reservation rights of OBCs, SCs and STs.

The government's move also comes after BJP ally and Union Minister Chirag Paswan voiced concern over making any appointments in government posts without providing reservation. The political row over lateral entry escalated, with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleging it was an "attack" on the Dalits, OBCs and adivasis.

Upping the ante over the lateral entry issue, the Congress on Monday had accused the BJP of "snatching reservation" and handing out posts meant for SCs, STs, OBCs, and EWS to people of the RSS.

Congress president Kharge had claimed that while his party-led government had brought in lateral entry to appoint select specialists and experts in some sector-specific posts as per their utility, the Modi government has made provision for it to "snatch the rights" of Dalits, tribals and backward classes.

Rahul Gandhi had alleged that the government's move of recruiting public servants through lateral entry was an "attack" on Dalits, OBCs and adivasis. He had accused the BJP of seeking to snatch reservations from 'bahujans'.