Congress, BJP spar over issue of lateral entry, Samajwadi Party warns of agitation

The opposition parties on August 18 slammed the Centres move to hire public servants through lateral entry claiming that it will snatch reservations from Scheduled Castes SCs Scheduled Tribes STs and Other Backward Classes OBCs but the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP hit back stating that the National Democratic Alliance NDA government was bringing transparency to this mode of recruitment started by the Congressled United Progressive Alliance UPA governmentThe Congress Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party BSP also alleged that the move was a conspiracy by BJP to appoint its ideological allies to high posts through the back doorPrivatisation of IAS Indian Administrative Service is Prime Minister Narendra Modis assurance for ending reservation leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi alleged adding the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance INDIA bloc will strongly oppose this antinational stepReservation of SC ST and OBC is being openly snatched away by recruiting through lateral entry on important posts in various ministries of the central government Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X Gandhi further alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is attacking the Constitution by recruiting public servants through the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh RSS instead of the Union Public Service Commission lsquo rsquo SC ST OBC hellipmdash Rahul Gandhi RahulGandhi August 18 2024Meanwhile Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav warned of an agitation over the issue from October 2 the birth anniversary of Mahatma GandhiCountering the charges made by the Opposition BJP cited office memorandums including the one issued by the Union Home Ministry in 2020 that emphasised the need for strict adherence to the reservation guidelines in lateral entries and said Gandhi must stop lyingThe Union Public Service Commission UPSC on August 17 advertised 45 posts ndash 10 of joint secretaries and 35 of directorsdeputy secretaries ndash to be filled through the lateral entry mode on a contractual basis It is the biggest tranche of lateral recruitment being undertaken by the Centre an official saidCongress president Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that as part of a wellplanned conspiracy BJP is deliberately making such recruitments in jobs so that the members from SC ST OBC communities can be kept away from reservationBSP chief Mayawati termed the decision as illegal and unconstitutional and said employees working on lower posts would be deprived of the benefit of promotionHowever Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the Congress criticism of the lateral entry system in senior bureaucracy shows its hypocrisyIn a post on X Vaishnaw said the reform measure implemented by the NDA government will improve governance INC Indian National Congress hypocrisy is evident on lateral entry matter It was the UPA government which developed the concept of lateral entry he saidThe minister added that the Second Administrative Reforms Commission ARC chaired by Congress leader Veerappa Moily and established in 2005 by then Congressled UPA government recommended recruitment of experts to fill the gaps in roles that require specialised knowledge The minister said the NDA government has created a transparent method to implement the recommendation made by ARCLateral entryINC hypocrisy is evident on lateral entry matter It was the UPA government which developed the concept of lateral entry The second Admin Reforms Commission ARC was established in 2005 under UPA government Shri Veerappa Moily chaired it UPA period ARChellipmdash Ashwini Vaishnaw AshwiniVaishnaw August 18 2024Meanwhile in a post on X BJP Information Technology IT department head Amit Malviya said Gandhi should stop lying as the truth is that such lateral recruitments used to be done without any following process during the UPA regimeBy eliminating that adhocism the government of India has now ensured that lateral entries are made on the basis of established guidelines so that there is no impact on the quota and reservation system he assertedMalviya cited the official memorandum issued by the Department of Personnel and Training DoPT in 2016 which stipulated that lateral recruitments must follow the reservation roster and maintain the prescribed ratio for SC ST OBC and persons with disability candidates He referred to another DoPT memorandum issued in 2019 which reiterated that lateral entries should be according to the reservation policy and roster maintenance The BJP leader also cited an office memorandum issued by the Union home ministry in 2020 that emphasised the need for strict adherence to the reservation guidelines in lateral entriesDue to the above provisions all the legal provisions and reservation rules which apply to the officers selected through any other selection process of UPSC Union Public Service Commission will also be applicable on lateral entries he said How many times does one have to explain the same thing to balak buddhi Malviya said taking a swipe at the Congress leader 2018 lateral entrants hellip httpstcobJ0L5qQpfZmdash Amit Malviya amitmalviya August 18 2024The lateral entry scheme was formally introduced during Modis tenure driven by the recognition of the need for domain experts to enhance the efficiency and responsiveness of Indias administrative machinery government sources saidIn 2018 the government took a significant step by announcing vacancies for senior positions such as joint secretaries and directors marking the first time that professionals from both the private and public sectors were invited to apply for these highlevel roles they saidThe selection process was rigorous emphasising candidates qualifications experience and suitability for these strategic positions they addedThis initiative was not without precedent it was deeply influenced by the recommendations of the Second ARC which had earlier laid the conceptual groundwork for lateral entry according to the sourcesWith PTI inputs