Cong slams BJP on lateral entry issue, Sudhanshu Trivedi hits back

New Delhi: BJP Rajya Sabha MP Sudhanshu Trivedi on Tuesday criticised Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi for accusing the ruling party of "snatching reservation" through lateral entry appointments.

Sudhanshu Trivedi remarked that LoP Rahul Gandhi and his family have a history regarding reservation, SCs/STs, and OBCs which is well-known.

He questioned Rahul Gandhi about his past complaints of not seeing SC/ST Secretaries.

The Rajya Sabha MP asked the LoP which batch the recently-appointed Cabinet Secretary belonged to, and highlighted that he was from the 1987 batch.

Trivedi reminded Rahul Gandhi that his father was in power in 1987 and questioned how many SC/ST/OBC individuals were appointed during that time, asking why quotas were not given back then. He urged Gandhi to answer about his father’s actions before questioning others.

On Monday, the Congress had accused the BJP of trying to snatch quotas and claimed that positions reserved for SC/ST/OBC, and Economically Weaker Sections would now be given to people affiliated with the RSS.

Rahul Gandhi, posted on X that lateral entry for government employees was an attack on Dalits, OBCs, and Adivasis’ rights of reservation in government jobs.

Earlier, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge pointed out that the Congress-led government had introduced lateral entry for appointing experts to specific positions based on their utility.

The Congress pointed out that it had brought in economic experts like Dr Manmohan Singh and Montek Singh Ahluwalia into the system via lateral entry.

Kharge professed that the Modi government was using this provision to take away the rights of Dalits, Adivasis, and Backward Classes. Kharge called it a BJP ploy to alter the Constitution by snatching reservation.

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) recently advertised for the recruitment of 45 specialists through lateral entry.

These positions include key roles like Joint Secretary, Director, and Deputy Secretary in various central ministries.

Lateral entry refers to the direct recruitment of experts from the private sector for these roles.

This concept was first introduced during the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government which had set up an Administrative Reforms Commission for it.