Lateral entry issue causing rift in NDA? Who is for it and who is against

Difference of opinions emerged in the NDA after the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Saturday advertised 45 posts -- 10 of joint secretaries and 35 of directors/deputy secretaries -- to be filled through the lateral entry mode on contract basis.

"The government of India has submitted the requisitions for lateral recruitment of joint secretary and director/deputy secretary level officers. Accordingly, on line applications are invited from talented and motivated Indian nationals willing to contribute towards nation building to join the government at the level of joint secretary or director/deputy secretary...," read the advertisement.

While the Opposition has outright called lateral entry an attack on Dalits, OBCs, adivasis, cracks also emerged in the BJP-led alliance with leaders like Chirag Paswan and K C Tyagi criticising the order.

“We are a party that has been asking governments to fill quotas since inception. We are followers of Ram Manohar Lohia. When people have been socially disadvantaged for centuries, why are you seeking merit? This order by the government is a matter of serious concern for us,” The Indian Express quoted JD(U) national spokesperson K C Tyagi as saying.

He also opined that this order is like handing over an issue to the Opposition on a platter and Rahul Gandhi will become the champion of the socially disadvantaged after this.

BJP ally and Union Minister Chirag Paswan also voiced concern over making any appointments in government posts without providing reservation. Paswan, who is the president of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), said he would raise the lateral entry issue with the Centre, and “there is no ifs and buts in this.”

"Reservation provisions must be there in any government appointment. There is no ifs and buts in this. No reservation exists in the private sector and if it is not implemented in government positions as well... The information came up before me on Sunday and it is a matter of concern for me," he told PTI.

Meanwhile, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said lateral entry in bureaucracy has been happening since the 1970s during the Congress-led governments and former prime minister Manmohan Singh and Montek Singh Ahluwalia were prominent examples of such initiatives taken in the past.

Also in support of lateral entry was Andhra Pradesh minister and TDP national general secretary Nara Lokesh.

“Several of these (government) departments need expertise and we are happy it (lateral entry) is being brought in. We have always been in favour of taking expertise from the private sector into the government. The government should learn from the private and vice versa. We support this move by the Central government as it will enhance the quality of governance and delivery of services to the common citizen," the leader told IE.

Notably, JD(U) and TDP have emerged as BJP's biggest allies after the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections.

Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal has also hit out at Rahul Gandhi for his claim that the government was trying to bypass the reservation system, reminding the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha that Manmohan Singh was made the finance secretary in 1976 through the lateral entry route. "You started lateral entry. Prime Minister Modi made it methodical," he told PTI Videos in Bikaner.

(With PTI inputs)