Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Monday slammed the BJP-led government at the Centre over lateral entry into top government positions and said this is an “attack” on Dalits, OBCs and Adivasis.

The statements of Kharge and Gandhi came in the wake of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) advertisement for lateral recruitment in different Ministries at the level of Joint Secretary or Director/Deputy Secretary on contract basis.

In a post on X, the Congress chief wrote, “Why is the provision of lateral entry of the Modi government an attack on the Constitution? Instead of filling jobs in government departments, BJP has eliminated 5.1 lakh posts in PSUs alone in the last 10 years.”

“There has been an increase of 91 per cent in casual and contract recruitment. SC, ST, OBC posts have been reduced by 1.3 lakh by 2022-23,” he said.

Referring to the previous Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the Centre, the Congress chief said, “We brought lateral entry to appoint a few specialists and experts to some sector-specific posts as per their usefulness. But the Modi government has made the provision of lateral entry not to appoint experts in the government but to snatch away the rights of Dalits, Adivasis and backward classes.”

Kharge, who is also the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha further said, “SC, ST, OBC, EWS posts will now be given to RSS people. This is the BJP’s chakravyuh to change the Constitution by taking away reservation.”

Echoing similar sentiments, Gandhi in a post on X wrote, “Lateral entry is an attack on Dalits, OBCs and Adivasis.”

Attacking the ruling dispensation, he said, “BJP’s distorted version of Ram Rajya seeks to destroy the Constitution and snatch reservations from Bahujans”.

Earlier in a post on social media, Gandhi said, “Narendra Modi is attacking the Constitution by recruiting public servants through ‘Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’ instead of the Union Public Service Commission. Reservation of SC, ST and OBC categories is being openly snatched away by recruiting important posts in various ministries of the Central government through lateral entry.”

“I have always said that the underprivileged are not represented in all the top positions of the country, including the top bureaucracy. Instead of improving it, they are being further removed from top positions through lateral entry. This is a robbery on the rights of talented youth preparing for UPSC and an attack on the concept of social justice including reservation for the underprivileged,” he said.

Gandhi further said, “INDIA bloc will strongly oppose this step which hurts both administrative structure and social justice. ‘Privatization of IAS’ is ‘Modi’s guarantee’ to end reservation.”

Reacting to the statement of Gandhi, Union Minister and BJP leader Ashwini Vaishnaw in a post on X wrote,
“Lateral entry. INC 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 the UPA government. Veerappa Moily chaired it. UPA period ARC recommended recruitment of experts to fill the gaps in roles that require specialised knowledge,” he said.

Referring to the BJP government, Vaishnaw said, “NDA government has created a transparent method to implement this recommendation. Recruitment will be done through UPSC in a transparent and fair manner. This reform will improve governance.”