In a fresh jibe at the Leader of the Opposition at Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his criticism of the Centre's lateral entry policy, Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Monday cited the entry of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who was appointed as economic advisor to the finance ministry in 1971 through lateral entry before becoming the finance secretary.
'Manmohan Singh Is Also An Example...': Arjun Meghwal's Reply To Rahul Gandhi's Lateral Entry Criticism
Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal's retort came as Congress MP Rahul Gandhi recently accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of undermining the Constitution by bypassing the traditional recruitment process through the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
What did Rahul Gandhi say?
Meghwal's retort came as Rahul Gandhi recently accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of undermining the Constitution by bypassing the traditional recruitment process through the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
Furthermore, the Congress MP 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.
What did Arjun Meghwal say?
Responding to Rahul Gandhi's reaction on the lateral entry policy, Meghwal said, “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.”
Meghwal further 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.
Launching an attack on the Congress over their past act of opposing the implementation of the Mandal Commission report, Meghwal termed Rahul Gandhi's statements 'misleading'.
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