BJP Forced to Backtrack on Lateral Entry Hiring Amid Opposition Pressure

The Congress party welcomed the decision of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to withdraw its advertisement related to lateral entry hiring in government jobs, in what is seen as a major political development on Tuesday. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge attributed this backtracking to the “fight for social justice” being spearheaded by the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, and other INDIA bloc allies. According to Mr. Kharge, this move has foiled the BJP’s alleged plans to “snatch away reservations.”

The cancellation followed a direction from Union Minister Jitendra Singh who had asked UPSC Chairperson Preeti Sudan to withdraw the advertisement. “The Modi government’s letter on Lateral Entry shows that only the power of the Constitution can defeat the arrogance of dictatorial power,” Kharge wrote in a post on X.which. He also praised the effort of Rahul Gandhi and other opposition parties, saying that though this was a victory, the BJP-RSS combine would continue to find loopholes against reservations.

The Congress Party has been its vocal opposition to the lateral entry provision because it enables professionals from the private sector to come directly into the senior government positions without taking the usual civil service entrance. Critics have termed the provision an “anti-national step” that will harm the integrity of public service and play with the reservation system that benefits Dalits, OBCs, and Adivasis.

“At all costs, we will protect the Constitution and the reservation system,” Gandhi said in a post on X. “We will foil conspiracies like BJP’s ‘lateral entry’ at any cost. I am saying it again: by breaking the 50% limit of reservations, we will make sure there is social justice based on caste count. Jai Hind.”

“In a letter to the UPSC chairperson,” Minister Jitendra Singh accepted the need for lateral entry but said “this has to be in tune with the constitutional principle of equity and social justice”. “Since these posts have been treated as specialised and designated as single-cadre posts, there has been no provision for reservation in these appointments,” the letter stated while explaining how the government atoned to these constitutional values.

The UPSC had issued an advertisement for 45 posts through lateral entry, which included 10 joint secretary and 35 director/deputy secretary posts. The Congress termed this advertisement as an “attack on Dalits, OBCs, and Adivasis,” thereby raising the political pitch over the issue.

Recent U-Turns of Government in the Face of Opposition Protests

This is the latest in a series of the government going back on some of its policy decisions in the face of protests by opposition parties. The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, for instance, drew intense opposition from Congress, DMK, NCP, Trinamool Congress, AIMIM, and so on. The resulting uproar was so big that the government was compelled to agree to send the bill to a parliamentary committee for further scrutiny. The bill deals with powers related to State Waqf Boards, registration and survey of Waqf properties, and removal of encroachments.

And the government has said it will put out a new draft of the proposed Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, after the Opposition accused it of passing out a revised one in “secret” among selected stakeholders. It had also proposed an amendment to the LTCG regime after the uproar that followed the Budget presentation for 2024; and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman would later allow taxpayers the choice between lower and higher taxed indices.

These examples reflect a growing pattern wherein opposition pressure is forcing the government to review its policy options—a more dynamic and contested political landscape in the run-up to the next general elections.