Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said on Tuesday that his party’s fight for social justice for Dalits, tribals, backwards and weaker sections of society has thwarted BJP’s plans to “snatch” reservations.

The Congress chief made the statement after the Central government asked the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to cancel the advertisement for lateral entry into top government positions in the wake of criticism from the Congress.

Notably, Kharge, who is also the leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi slammed the BJP-led government after the UPSC issued an advertisement on Saturday for lateral recruitment in different Ministries at the level of Joint secretary or director/deputy secretary on contract basis.

Reacting to Minister for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Jitendra Singh’s letter to UPSC Chairman Preeti Sudan, the Congress chief in a post on X wrote, “The Congress party’s fight for social justice for dalits, tribals, backward and weaker sections has thwarted the BJP’s plans to snatch reservations. Modi government’s letter on lateral entry shows that only the power of the Constitution can defeat the arrogance of dictatorial power.”

Attacking the BJP and the RSS, he said, “As long as BJP-RSS are in power, they will continue to adopt new tactics to snatch reservation. We all have to be careful.”

Echoing similar sentiments, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Gandhi wrote in a post on X, “We will protect the Constitution and reservation system at all costs. We will foil BJP’s conspiracies like ‘lateral entry’ at any cost.

“I am saying once again we will ensure social justice on the basis of caste census,” he said.

Endorsing Gandhi’s views, Congress general secretary in-charge of Organisation KC Venugopal wrote on X, “Let this lateral entry incident serve as a harsh lesson for PM Modi and the BJP-RSS regime to never tamper with the Constitution. BJP Ministers should stop their farce of suddenly claiming that Prime Minister Modi is some harbinger of social justice.”

“The lateral entry system was introduced in 2018. For 6 years, countless voices exposed how lateral entry in the bureaucracy is a ploy to destroy reservations. Now, as the post-June 4 reality is seeping in, this anti-reservation regime is being forced to step away from its true casteist agenda,” he said.

The senior Congress leader said under the leadership of Kharge and Gandhi, they will be the staunchest guardians of our Constitution and reservations and added that ”no attempt to dilute representation and fundamental rights of SC, ST, and OBCs will be allowed.”

“We take this opportunity to applaud those NDA allies who took the bold stance of standing up to the injustice being plotted by their ally BJP,” he said.

Venugopal said the “Centre should put the lateral entry mechanism to rest and take urgent steps to ensure there is adequate representation for marginalised communities in the senior bureaucracy.”

In his letter addressed to the UPSC chairman, the Minister said, “The PM is of the firm belief that the process of lateral entry must be aligned with the principles of equity and social justice enshrined in our Constitution, particularly concerning the provisions of reservation. For the PM, reservation in public employment is a cornerstone of our social justice framework, aimed at addressing historical injustices and promoting inclusivity.”

He asserted that it is important that the constitutional mandate towards social justice is upheld so that deserving candidates from marginalized communities get their rightful representation in the government services.

“Since these positions have been treated as specialized and designated as single-cadre posts, there has been no provision for reservation in these appointments. This aspect needs to be reviewed and reformed in the context of PM’s focus on ensuring social justice. Hence, I urge the UPSC to cancel the advertisement for lateral entry recruitment issued on 17th August,” said Singh.

He said this step would be a significant advance in the pursuit of social justice and empowerment.