On Rahul Gandhi's criticism of Modi govt's lateral entry push, Arjun Meghwal invokes ex-PM Manmohan Singh

Arjun Ram Meghwal said that numerous examples show that the Congress party initiated lateral entry practices.

Updated on: Aug 20, 2024, 04:53:58 IST

By HT News Desk

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Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Monday took a jab at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his criticism of the Centre's lateral entry policy, citing that former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was appointed as economic advisor to the finance ministry in 1971 through lateral entry and later became finance secretary.

Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Monday said that former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was appointed as economic advisor to the finance ministry in 1971 through lateral entry.

Meghwal said that numerous examples show that the Congress party initiated lateral entry practices.

“ Rahul Gandhi alleges that RSS people are recruited through lateral entry. We want to say that Dr Manmohan Singh is also an example of lateral entry. In 1976, how did you appoint him financial secretary? Your Planning Commission's vice-chairman was also on a lateral entry. You will find hundreds of such examples...you started lateral entry,” ANI quoted Meghwal as saying.

Read: BJP ally Chirag Paswan opposes Modi government's lateral entry move: ‘Wrong’

Meghwal alleged that the Second Administrative Reforms Commission, established in 2005 under the Congress-led UPA government had recommended recruiting experts to fill roles requiring specialised knowledge.

He said that former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi opposed implementing the Mandal Commission report, adding, “ Suddenly, the Congress seems to favour OBCs, misleading SC, ST and OBC students.”

Rahul Gandhi on Sunday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of undermining the Constitution by bypassing the traditional recruitment process through the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha also alleged that the Modi government was favouring recruits with affiliations to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

“Reservation for SC, ST, and OBC categories is being openly snatched away by recruiting through lateral entry on important posts in various ministries of the central government,” Gandhi wrote in Hindi on X.

He expressed concern that the underprivileged are already underrepresented in top bureaucratic positions, and this new policy would further exclude them, depriving talented youth preparing for civil services exams of their rightful opportunities.

With ANI inputs

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