Chirag Paswan said reservation must be there in any government appointment.
Congress's Rahul Gandhi has found an unexpected ally in Union minister Chirag Paswan, who has become first NDA partner to criticize the lateral entry in the Union Public Service Commission or UPSC. Echoing Mr Gandhi's criticism that the lateral entry without quota deprives the disadvantaged communities, Mr Paswan said he would raise the issue with the Centre. His party, he added, is absolutely not in support of such a measure.
"Reservation provisions must be there in any government appointment. There are no ifs and buts in this. No reservation exists in the private sector and if it is not implemented in government positions as well... The information came up before me on Sunday and it is a matter of concern for me," he was quoted as saying by news agency Press Trust of India.
The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief said as a member of the government, he has the platform to raise the issue and he would.
Earlier this month, the UPSC had advertised for recruits to fill 45 posts -- 10 of joint secretaries and 35 of directors/deputy secretaries -- through the lateral entry on a contract basis.
The move has been shredded by the Congress, who called it a ploy to snatch jobs from disadvantaged classes and give it to cadres of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS, the BJP's ideological mentor.
The Congress, Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) have alleged that it is a "conspiracy" by the BJP to appoint its ideological allies to high posts through the back door.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge claimed that while the UPA government introduced lateral entry to appoint select experts in some areas, the NDA government is using it to "snatch the rights" of Dalits, tribals and backward classes.
"SC, ST, OBC, EWS posts will now be given to people of the RSS. This is BJP's 'Chakravyuh' to change the Constitution by snatching reservation," Mr Kharge alleged.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had said the Congress' criticism of the lateral entry system exposes its "hypocrisy".
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Mr Vaishnaw said. "INC (Indian National Congress) hypocrisy is evident on lateral entry matter. It was the UPA government which developed the concept of lateral entry," he said.