Party with history of discrimination against SCs, STs peddling lies on lateral entry: BJP slams Cong

New Delhi: While the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) withdrew its advertisement over ‘lateral entrant vacancy’ in bureaucracy on Tuesday, at the behest of the Centre, this prompted an unsparing attack on the Congress and its allies by the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP).

The BJP hit out at the Congress party over its ‘double standards’ and also charged the latter with ‘spreading canards’ for furthering its ‘motivated’ agenda on the issue.

Senior BJP leader Hitesh Jain, taking to X called out Congress’ ‘duplicity’ and said that it was ‘time to expose their white lies.’

He said that Congress has a long history of discriminating against SCs, STs, and OBCs – from denying reservations in institutions like Jamia Millia and AMU to now spreading lies about lateral entry.

“It’s time to stop the doublespeak and focus on what matters: building a bureaucracy that’s fair, inclusive, and truly representative of India’s diversity,” he added.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Tuesday wrote to the UPSC, asking it to withdraw the controversial advertisement over lateral entry into civil services.

Claiming that today’s order addressing the issue of lateral entry was a step in the right direction, Hitesh Jain said: “It’s imperative that any such process aligns with the principles of equity and social justice, ensuring fair representation of marginalised communities. When it comes to lateral entry into civil services, there’s no room for duplicity.”

“Either we stand firmly for social justice, or we’re just paying lip service. This letter takes a clear stand – it’s about walking the talk,” he added.

He also dismissed the opposition’s claims of lateral entry bypassing the reservation system and said that it was being made more inclusive under the Modi government.

“Under PM Modi’s leadership, lateral entry is being made inclusive, with a transparent process that includes everyone – SCs, STs, and OBCs. Congress’ fake outrage is nothing more than a smokescreen to hide their own failures,” he wrote.

Earlier, the issue of lateral entry into bureaucracy led to a bitter war of words between the BJP and the INDIA bloc. The opposition claimed that the Centre was attempting to bypass the reservation system, which grants representation to OBCs, SCs and STs in government institutions, while the latter refuted the charges claiming that it was conceptualised during the UPA rule in 2005.

The Opposition also sought to take credit for the Centre withdrawing the notification for lateral entry, saying that it backed down due to its mounting pressure.

–IANS