New Delhi:

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi responded Monday to the BJP’s criticism of his comments on the lateral entry row, calling the concept “an attack on Dalits, OBCs, and Adivasis”. “The BJP’s distorted version of Ram Rajya seeks to destroy the Constitution and snatch reservation from Bahujans…” he said on X.

On Sunday night Mr Gandhi said “Prime Minister Narendra Modi is attacking the Constitution by recruiting public servants through Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh instead of the UPSC”.

He claimed the government is “recruiting for important posts in central government through lateral entry” and that this meant “reservation (for) SC, ST, and OBC classes being openly snatched away”.

Lateral entry is an attack on Dalits, OBCs and Adivasis.

BJP’s distorted version of Ram Rajya seeks to destroy the Constitution and snatch reservations from Bahujans.

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) August 19, 2024

Hours later the BJP responded, reminding Mr Gandhi it was the Congress-led UPA government that introduced the concept. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw was among the BJP leaders who shot back.

“INC hypocrisy is evident on the lateral entry matter. It was UPA government which developed concept of lateral entry. The second Admin Reforms Commission was established in 2005…” he said on X.

Lateral entry

INC hypocrisy is evident on lateral entry matter. It was the UPA government which developed the concept of lateral entry.

The second Admin Reforms Commission (ARC) was established in 2005 under UPA government. Shri Veerappa Moily chaired it.

UPA period ARC…

— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) August 18, 2024

Mr Gandhi wasn’t the only opposition leader to weigh in on the lateral entry row.

Akhilesh Yadav Calls For Oct 2 Protest 

On Sunday Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, whose party is a member of the Congress-led INDIA opposition bloc, called lateral entry a “big conspiracy” against the country. Like Mr Gandhi, Mr Yadav also claimed the concept robs marginalised classes of their rights, including reservations.

“The time has come to launch a nationwide movement against the conspiracy being hatched by the BJP to place its ideological allies in high government positions through the back door in UPSC. This method will close the doors for today’s officers as well as for youth to reach higher positions in the present and future. Common people will be limited to the positions of clerks and peons…” he said on X.

“Whole plan is to snatch reservations and rights from PDA,” the ex-Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said, referring to his core vote bank of ‘pichhde‘ (backward classes), Dalit, and ‘alpsankhyak‘ (minorities).

भाजपा अपनी विचारधारा के संगी-साथियों को पिछले दरवाज़े से यूपीएससी के उच्च सरकारी पदों पर बैठाने की जो साज़िश कर रही है, उसके ख़िलाफ़ एक देशव्यापी आंदोलन खड़ा करने का समय आ गया है।

ये तरीक़ा आज के अधिकारियों के साथ, युवाओं के लिए भी वर्तमान और भविष्य में उच्च पदों पर जाने का…

— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) August 18, 2024

Akhilesh Yadav also called for a fierce protest on Gandhi Jayanti (i.e., October 2) to force the BJP to scrap the lateral entry concept. “Officials and youth… are requested… if the BJP government does not withdraw it, then stand shoulder-to-shoulder with us in starting a new movement from October 2. We will not tolerate corporate takeover of government machinery because of capitalist thinking…” he declared.

What Is Lateral Entry Row?

The UPSC recently announced a notification for recruiting Joint Secretaries, Directors, and Deputy Secretaries via lateral entry, which the opposition criticised on grounds it undermines the reservation rights of OBCs, SCs, and STs.

However, sources explained that the ARC had recognised that certain roles need specialised knowledge, which is not always available to civil servants, and it had recommended recruiting professionals from the private sector, academia, and public sector undertakings to fill these gaps.

READ | After Rahul Gandhi’s Attack On Lateral Entry, BJP’s “UPA” Reminder

The ARC proposed the creation of a talent pool of professionals who could be inducted, on short-term or contractual basis, bringing fresh perspectives in areas like economics, technology, and public policy.

The ARC also stressed the importance of integrating lateral entrants into the existing civil services in a manner that maintains its integrity and ethos while leveraging their specialised skills, sources said.

The scheme was formally introduced during Mr Modi’s tenure, sources said, and is driven by the need for domain experts to enhance efficiency and responsiveness of India’s administrative machinery.

In 2018 the government took a significant step by announcing vacancies for senior positions such as joint secretaries and directors, marking the first time professionals from the private and public sectors were invited to apply. The selection process was rigorous and emphasised qualifications and suitability.

With input from agencies

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New Delhi:

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has paid tribute to the four soldiers killed on Monday in an encounter with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda. “Today, our soldiers were martyred in another terrorist encounter in Jammu and Kashmir. I pay my humble tribute to the martyrs and express my deepest condolences to the bereaved families,” he posted in Hindi on X Tuesday morning.

Mr Gandhi, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said the number of such attacks on Indian soldiers in J&K in the past few months is “extremely sad and worrying”.

He also hit out at the government for the “poor condition of Jammu and Kashmir” and said the soldiers there are “bearing the brunt of the BJP’s wrong policies”. The “wrong policies” reference has been seen as an attack on the Modi government over the scrapping of Article 370 in J&K.

“It is the demand of every patriotic Indian that the government should take full responsibility for repeated security lapses,” Mr Gandhi said and called for “strict action” against the terrorists.

आज जम्मू कश्मीर में फिर से एक आतंकी मुठभेड़ में हमारे जवान शहीद हो गए। शहीदों को विनम्र श्रद्धांजलि अर्पित करते हुए शोक संतप्त परिजनों को गहरी संवेदनाएं व्यक्त करता हूं।

एक के बाद एक ऐसी भयानक घटनाएं बेहद दुखद और चिंताजनक है।

लगातार हो रहे ये आतंकी हमले जम्मू कश्मीर की जर्जर…

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 16, 2024

However, Mr Gandhi also underlined the need for political unity at this time, and the importance of the opposition supporting the government as it responds to the increased terror threat.

“In this hour of grief, the entire country stands united against terrorism,” he said.

Four soldiers, including an officer, were killed in action in Doda district. The terrorists had attacked a joint operation – of the Army and J&K Police – formed to track them down.

READ | 4 Soldiers Killed In Action In Encounter With Terrorists In J&K’s Doda

Contact was made late Monday night, the Army had said.

The operation is ongoing, NDTV has been told.

Sources told NDTV Defence Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi and took stock of the ground situation and ongoing operation in Doda.

This was the second major encounter in the Jammu region after five soldiers were killed in action in Kathua last week. That attack, in which five were also injured, was a coordinated strike on two trucks – with grenades and armour-piercing bullets, and an American-made assault rifle.

READ | Kathua Terror Attack On 2 Trucks, Armour-Piercing Bullets Used

The attacks, which began in Poonch and Rajouri, have now spread across Jammu, a region that was free from terrorism till a few years ago. In the last 32 months, 48 soldiers have been killed.

Earlier this month Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in Parliament the fight against terrorism in J&K is in its last stage, and that a multi-pronged strategy had been adopted to destroy the remaining network. “Our fight against terrorism in J&K, in a way, is in last stage, last leg. We are moving with a multi-pronged strategy to eliminate the remaining terror network there,” he said.

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New Delhi:

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Monday responded to criticism by Prime Minister Narendra Modi about his use of the word ‘shakti‘ – a reference to the feminine divine energy – when describing the opposition’s bid to defeat the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in the April/May Lok Sabha election.

The PM and the BJP had accused Mr Gandhi and the opposition, including the Congress-led INDIA bloc, of wanting to destroy ‘shakti‘, and extended the comment to “…denying the existence of Lord Ram”. “I accept their challenge. I will sacrifice my life,” the PM said in Telangana’s Jagtial.

Mr Gandhi then counter-accused the PM of “always trying to change the meaning of my words by twisting them in some way or the other”, and said he had spoken about a “power (or ‘shakti‘) that has captured institutions, media, industry, and the entire constitutional structure of India”.

“… he (PM Modi) knows I have spoken a deep truth. The power that I mentioned, the power that we are fighting… the mask of that power is Modiji. This is such a power that has captured institutions… the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Enforcement Directorate, the Income Tax Department, the Election Commission, the media, and the entire constitutional structure of India,” he declared.

मोदी जी को मेरी बातें अच्छी नहीं लगतीं, किसी न किसी तरह उन्हें घुमाकर वह उनका अर्थ हमेशा बदलने की कोशिश करते हैं क्योंकि वह जानते हैं कि मैंने एक गहरी सच्चाई बोली है।

जिस शक्ति का मैंने उल्लेख किया, जिस शक्ति से हम लड़ रहे हैं, उस शक्ति का मुखौटा मोदी जी हैं।

वह एक ऐसी शक्ति…

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 18, 2024

“I recognise that power… Modiji also recognises that power. This is not religious power. It is the power of corruption and falsehood. And this is why, whenever I raise my voice against him, Modiji gets upset and enraged,” Mr Gandhi thundered at a ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ event in Mumbai.

READ | “Misogynistic”: Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Shakti’ Remark Rally Sparks Row

Mr Gandhi was seen as referring to claims by the opposition that the BJP uses central agencies, like the CBI, ED and Income Tax Department, to target and intimidate rivals, particularly before an election.

Mr Gandhi also spoke about a “senior (Maharashtra political) leader” who quit the Congress.

“Weeping… he told my mother (Congress matriarch Sonia Gandhi), ‘Soniaji, I’m ashamed to say, I do not have the power to fight this people, this force. I do not want to go to jail’.”

The “senior leader” was seen by many to be ex-Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, who last month swapped the Congress for the BJP, and got a Rajya Sabha nomination, within 48 hours. Mr Chavan this morning, however, issued a statement refusing talk Mr Gandhi was referring to him.

READ | Ashok Chavan On Rahul’s “Weeping Senior Leader Who Quit” Jab

Mr Chavan has three cases pending against him; two are linked to the 2010 Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society scam, which led to his resignation as Chief Minister.

In a response on X (formerly Twitter), Mr Gandhi also said the PM had waived loans worth thousands of crores while farmers commit suicide over repay debts of a few thousands.

The Congress leader also referred to earlier “crony capitalism” attacks on the Prime Minister and the BJP, and claimed Mr Modi had “auctioned the country’s property to increase that power” while poor Indians live in poverty and suffer through an ongoing cost-of-living crisis.

The Prime Minister wasn’t the only BJP figure to lash out at Mr Gandhi; BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla accused the Congress MP of expressing “misogynistic” views.

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