NEW DELHI :  Union Minister Chirag Paswan’s latest remarks Rahul Gandhi has found an unexpected ally in Union Minister Chirag Paswan, who has become the first NDA partner to criticise lateral entry in the Union Public Service Commission or UPSC. Reiterating Mr Gandhi’s criticism that lateral entry without quota deprives underprivileged communities, Mr Paswan said he will take up the issue with the Centre. He added that his party is not in favour of such a measure at all.
The controversy over the central government advertising to fill 45 posts at joint secretary and other levels in the government through lateral entry on contract basis grew bigger on Monday, with NDA ally and Union minister Chirag Paswan opposing the move.  “There should be a provision for reservation in any government appointment. There is no doubt about it. There is no reservation in the private sector and if it is not implemented in government posts as well…it is a matter of concern for me,” Mr Paswan said. Mr Paswan said that as a member of the government, he has the “platform to raise the issue and he will do so.”
He said that his party unquestionably opposes lateral entry. His cabinet colleague and Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, who heads the Hindustani Awam Morcha, said, however, that he did not see any “big conspiracy” in the move to take away reservation for SCs and STs. “If there is any talk of taking away reservation, I am in the cabinet and we can also talk to them [BJP ministers] in the cabinet…”.
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) last Saturday advertised 45 posts – 10 of joint secretaries and 35 of directors/deputy secretaries – to be filled through the lateral entry mode on contract basis. This is the biggest chunk of lateral recruitment being done by the Centre, an official said. Opposition parties criticised the move, claiming it would take away reservation from SCs, STs and OBCs. The BJP hit back, saying the NDA government was bringing transparency in this method of recruitment introduced by the Congress-led UPA. Rahul Gandhi slams lateral entry, says privatisation of IAS is ‘Modi’s guarantee’ to end reservation.
While the Opposition and the BJP are at loggerheads over the issue, the complication created by the government’s allies openly opposing the move is significant. During the recently concluded Lok Sabha session, allies pushed for referring the Waqf Amendment Bill to a joint parliamentary committee, following which it was resolved that the NDA constituents would meet at least once a month to resolve contentious issues..The move has been strongly criticised by the Congress, which called it a ploy to snatch jobs from underprivileged sections and give them to workers of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS, the ideological mentor of the BJP. The Congress, Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) have alleged that it is a “conspiracy” by the BJP to appoint its ideological allies to high posts through the backdoor.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge claimed the UPA government had introduced lateral entry to appoint select experts in certain fields while the NDA government was using it to “snatch away the rights” of Dalits, tribals and backward classes.

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