Rahul takes ‘privatisation’ dig at Modi govt’s lateral entry drive in bureaucracy

New Delhi: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Sunday took strong objection to the Modi government’s proposal to induct professionals with domain expertise in various ministries on the ranks of Joint Secretary, Director and other senior positions and also likened the move to ‘privatisation of IAS’.

Rahul, also the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha, accused the government of undermining the Constitution by bypassing the traditional recruitment process under the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and claimed that those having affiliations with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) are being prioritised.

“Reservation of 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,” Rahul said on X.

He further expressed concern that the underprivileged and marginalised population already remains deprived of its representation in top government positions and said that such lateral entrants will not only destroy the reservation system but will also further rule out chances of representation, particularly from the lower class.

“This is a robbery of the rights of talented youth preparing for UPSC and an attack on the concept of social justice including reservation for the deprived,” he said on microblogging site X.

Rahul’s remarks come on the back of a fresh push and also the ‘largest’ drive by the Modi government to bring in specialists and experts on key positions in various departments and ministries.

Notably, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Saturday issued an advertisement on Saturday, notifying about the ‘vacancy’ for 45 domain experts in the rank and pay of Joint Secretaries, Deputy Secretaries and Directors. Out of 45, ten experts will be hired as Joint Secretaries while the rest will be ‘absorbed’ into the ranks of Directors or deputy secretaries across ministries including finance, electronics, agriculture, environment, and renewable energy.

As the advertisement revealed the government's plan to give ‘direction and pace’ to the administrative machinery with expert recruits, the Congress and INDIA bloc called it a ‘deliberate attempt’ by the BJP to deprive the SC, ST and OBCs of their role in government departments.

The LoP also stated that the Opposition will strongly oppose this ‘anti-national’ move.