NDA govt forced to take step back four times in two months: Congress jabs BJP after lateral entry U-turn

PTI, Aug 21, 2024, 6:23 PM IST

Jairam Ramesh (Source: PTI / File)

New Delhi: A day after the Centre withdrew the advertisement for lateral entry in bureaucracy, the Congress on Wednesday said those who were calling the Lok Sabha poll results a victory for the BJP may now be realising the true meaning of the mandate with the NDA government “forced to take a step back” four times in just two months.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the public has halted “the non-biological prime minister” by the power of their votes.

“Those who were calling the Lok Sabha election results a victory for the BJP may now be realising the true meaning of the mandate. The NDA government has been forced to step back four times in just two months,” Ramesh said in a post in Hindi on X.

“The latest example is the cancellation of the proposal of lateral entry for IAS posts. Due to strong criticism from the opposition and the voice raised from all over the country, within just three days the government had to abandon the plan of recruiting its favourite people in the bureaucracy,” the Congress leader said.

Earlier, the government had to withdraw the draft of the Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2024 due to criticism, Ramesh said.

“The government, which has been forcibly passing bills by ignoring Parliament for 10 years, was forced to send the Waqf (Amendment) Bill to Parliament’s joint committee. And in view of the huge resentment of the middle class, the government also had to restore the indexation benefit on the sale of property,” he said.

Ramesh’s remarks came after the Centre on Tuesday asked the UPSC to cancel the latest lateral entry recruitment, amid a row over reservation in the advertised posts. Later, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) cancelled the advertisement.

The opposition on Tuesday claimed that the Centre’s move to withdraw the advertisement for lateral entry into bureaucracy was due to pressure exerted by it and the power of the Constitution, even as the government asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always shown his commitment towards social justice.

The Congress also claimed that the Centre’s move to withdraw the advertisement for lateral entry into bureaucracy was due to the campaign by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and INDIA bloc parties, and said this shows that only the power of the Constitution can defeat the “arrogance of a dictatorial regime”.