Rahul Gandhi: The Congress leader and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, has fired a salvo at the BJP-led central government over its controversial lateral entry scheme to bureaucratic positions. Gandhi condemned the initiative, which he said has undermined the principles of social justice by targeting Dalits, OBCs, and Adivasis.
Gandhi Labels Lateral Entry as an Attack on Marginalized Communities
“Lateral entry is an attack on Dalits, OBCs, and Adivasis. BJP’s distorted version of Ram Rajya seeks to destroy the Constitution and snatch reservations from Bahujans,” he said on X (formerly Twitter). It was not his first condemnation of the government’s move, labeling that “anti-national step.”
Gandhi’s comments were in response to the induction of 45 experts by the Central government to top-level posts of joint secretaries, directors, and deputy secretaries in various central ministries through lateral entry. These posts are normally filled through officers of IAS, IPS, IFoS, and other Group A services. One major question that is raised with this sea change of bringing in people from outside of the traditional bureaucratic channels is the impact that it will have on the reservation system.
Rahul Gandhi Accuses Modi of Constitutional Violation Over RSS-Involved Appointments
The former president of the Congress party, while speaking at a press conference, accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of violating the Constitution by appointing public servants through the RSS, while they should have been appointed through the UPSC. He cited the controversy around the appointment of an individual from the private sector as the chairperson of SEBI, which caused an uproar, as part of the potential conflict of interest and bias in appointments critique.
He termed this policy as a “privatisation of IAS” and said it is the first step toward breaking reservation systems. INDIA bloc will strongly resist this “anti-national step” that is causing damage to the administrative structure and against social justice, he said. The recent advertisement by UPSC for 45 posts to be filled through lateral entry was the biggest recruitment through this route that the Centre has undertaken so far.
