Indian Minister Jitendra Singh on Tuesday wrote to Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) chief and asked him to cancel an advertisement for lateral entry into bureaucracy.

The UPSC had recently issued an advertisement seeking "talented and motivated Indian nationals" for lateral recruitment to various senior positions within the Union government.

In his letter Singh wrote in his letter1bb: "While most of the major lateral entries before 2014 were made in an ad-hoc manner, including cases of alleged favouritism, efforts of our government have been to make the process institutionally driven, transparent and open."

 "The Prime Minister is of the firm belief that the process of lateral entry must be aligned with the principles of equity and social justice enshrined in our Constitution, particularly concerning the provisions of reservation," the letter said.

Rahul Gandhi slams advertisement

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi slammed the lateral entry advertisement and said it was an attack on certain communities of India which include Dalits, OBCs and Adivasis.

"Lateral entry is an attack on Dalits, OBCs and Adivasis," he posted on X.

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

Union Minister counters Rahul Gandhi

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw was quick in replying when he said it was the Congress-led UPA government that had started the concept of lateral entry.

"INC hypocrisy is evident on lateral entry matter. It was the UPA government which developed the concept of lateral entry," the Indian Minister posted on X.

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

"UPA period ARC recommended recruitment of experts to fill the gaps in roles that require specialised knowledge. NDA government has created a transparent method to implement this recommendation. Recruitment will be done through UPSC in a transparent and fair manner," he said.

The Minister said the reform measure will reform governance.

The lateral entry into bureaucracy is a method applied by the Centre to recruit  individuals from outside the traditional government service cadres to fill mid and senior-level positions.

The system was formally introduced int he system during PM Narendra Modi's first tenure in 2018.