‘Weak PM’: Opposition says its efforts forced withdrawal of lateral entry into bureaucracy
The Congress’ fight for social justice foiled the Bharatiya Janata Party’s plans to snatch reservations, party chief Mallikarjun Kharge said.
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The Opposition on Tuesday called Narendra Modi a “weak Prime Minister” and said that its efforts had forced the Centre to direct the Union Public Service Commission to withdraw its advertisement for recruiting bureaucrats through lateral entry.
“2024 [general election] has given us two outcomes: a weak Prime Minister and a strong People's Leader of the Opposition,” Manickam Tagore, Congress’ Lok Sabha chief whip, said. “In the end, it’s a victory for our Constitution.”
The Modi government had been forced to withdraw the Broadcast Bill and the “Long Term Capital Gain/Indexation” provision on immovable properties presented during the Union Budget, the Opposition leader said.
The Centre’s decision on lateral entry on Tuesday came hours after Union minister Jitendra Singh wrote a letter to the commission’s chairperson Preeti Sudan, urging her to cancel the recruitment.
The letter was written at the direction of Modi. Singh is the minister of state in the Prime Minister’s Office.
The Opposition parties and the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), a Bharatiya Janata Party ally, had objected to the Union Public Service Commission’s August 17 advertisement calling for the recruitment of 45 joint secretaries, directors and deputy secretaries across 24 Union ministries.
The Opposition had alleged that the decision undermined the quota system guaranteed by the Constitution.
On Tuesday, the Opposition said that the Centre’s “conspiracy” against reservations had failed and that its efforts had...
