Lateral entries done without process under UPA: BJP hits back at Rahul Gandhi

'By eliminating that ad-hocism, the government of India has now ensured that lateral entries are made on the basis of established guidelines so that there is no impact on the quota and reservation system,' BJP IT dept head Amit Malviya asserted.

New Delhi: The BJP on Sunday asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to stop lying after he claimed that the government's move to recruit public servants through lateral entry would take away the reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs.

In a post on X, BJP IT department head Amit Malviya said the truth is that such lateral recruitments used to be done without any process during the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance's rule.

"By eliminating that ad-hocism, the government of India has now ensured that lateral entries are made on the basis of established guidelines so that there is no impact on the quota and reservation system," he asserted.

Malviya cited the official memorandum issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) in 2016 which stipulated that lateral recruitments must follow the reservation roster and maintain the prescribed ratio for SC, ST, OBC and persons with disability candidates.

He referred to another DoPT memorandum issued in 2019 which reiterated that lateral entries should be according to the reservation policy and roster maintenance.

The BJP leader also cited an office memorandum issued by the Union home ministry in 2020 that emphasised the need for strict adherence to the reservation guidelines in lateral entries.

"Due to the above provisions, all the legal provisions and reservation rules which apply to the officers selected through any other selection process of UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) will also be applicable on lateral entries," he said and asked Gandhi to "stop lying".

"How many times does one have to explain the same thing to 'balak buddhi'," Malviya said, taking a swipe at the Congress leader.

He alleged that a similar attempt was made to spread confusion on the issue in 2018 as well.

"But when questions were raised on many prominent lateral entrants like Dr Manmohan Singh and Montek Singh Ahluwalia", the Congress was left stunned, he said.

"The truth is that earlier the Congress used to recruit such lateral entrants without any process," he said and asked, "Whose right to reservation were violated by these decisions taken by them at that time?"

"Did these appointments made by them not have an impact on the morale of the civil servants then?" he asked.