‘Harsh lesson’: Congress’ Venugopal slams PM Modi, BJP-RSS regime, after withdrawal of UPSC lateral entry notification

UPSC lateral entry row: Following the withdrawal of the lateral entry advertisement by the central government, Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal termed it as a "harsh lesson" for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP-RSS regime, ANI reported.

Taking to social media platform X (formerly Twitter), the AICC general secretary shared the Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi's post and wrote, “Let this lateral entry incident serve as a harsh lesson for PM Modi and the BJP-RSS regime to never tamper with the Constitution. 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."

For recruiting Joint Secretaries, Directors, and Deputy Secretaries for a total of 45 posts, the UPSC released a notification on August 17 inviting applications to fill seats through lateral entry. Now the Department of Personnel and Training has written to the UPSC asking to cancel the advertisement.

The Congress leader alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) used the lateral entry system to undermine reservation policies and slammed the NDA-led government at the centre.

Targeting the Union government, KC Venugopal said that despite concerns being raised about how the lateral entry system threatens to dismantle reservation provisions in the bureaucracy, it continued for a total of six years until it was cancelled on PM Mod's orders.

He added, “Under INC President Mallikarjun Kharge and LOP Rahul Gandhi's leadership, we will be the staunchest guardians of our Constitution and reservations. No attempt to dilute representation and fundamental rights of SC, ST, OBCs will be allowed.”

Praising the NDA allies who stood up "to the injustice being plotted by their ally BJP," the AICC general secretary said the Union government should put the lateral entry mechanism to rest. He further urged the government to take urgent steps to ensure there is adequate representation for marginalised communities in the senior bureaucracy.

Meanwhile, referring to the lateral entry issue, Congress general secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was trying to do “damage control.”

(With inputs from ANI)