Minister Chirag Paswan pleased that PM Modi grasped concerns about UPSC Lateral Entry U-Turn

Union Minister Chirag Paswan has expressed gratitude towards Prime Minister Modi for the Centre’s decision to request the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to withdraw its advertisement for lateral entry into the bureaucracy. This decision comes after criticism from the Opposition and pressure from ally Chirag Paswan, who had reservations against the move.

The Minister thanked the Prime Minister for understanding the concerns of people from SC/ST and OBC backgrounds. The UPSC had issued an advertisement seeking “talented and motivated Indian nationals” for lateral recruitment to various senior positions within the Union government, including Joint Secretary, Director, and Deputy Secretary roles in 24 ministries, with a total of 45 posts available.

Chirag Paswan emphasized the importance of reservation provisions in government appointments and stressed that these rules should be followed by the government. He stated that he had held discussions with the Prime Minister and submitted relevant documents to his office, reiterating the necessity for implementing reservation in government positions.

Expressing his gratitude, the Union Minister stated, “I am happy that my Prime Minister Modiji understood the concerns of SC/ST and backward people. My party LJP (Ram Vilas) and I thank PM Modi” at a press conference in Patna, Bihar.

The lateral entry move faced criticism from the Congress, who claimed it was a ploy to take jobs from disadvantaged classes and give them to the cadres of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the BJP’s ideological mentor. The Congress, Samajwadi Party (SP), and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) alleged that the BJP was using lateral entry to appoint its ideological allies to high posts through the back door.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw countered the criticism by stating that it was the UPA government which developed the concept of lateral entry and accused the Congress of hypocrisy in their stance on the matter.