Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has termed the Congress criticism of lateral entry into bureaucracy as hypocrisy. Recently, the Union Public Service Commission has issued an advertisement to appoint 45 Joint Secretaries, Directors, and Deputy Secretaries in Central Ministries, which has been questioned by the opposition parties.

In a social media post, Mr. Vaishnaw said that it was the Congress-led UPA government that developed the concept of lateral entry. He added that the second Administrative Reforms Commission, chaired by Congress leader Veerappa Moily in 2005, had recommended the recruitment of experts to fill the gaps in roles that require specialised knowledge.

The Minister asserted that the NDA government has created a transparent method to implement this recommendation of the previous government, and the recruitment will be done through UPSC in a transparent and fair manner. He highlighted that this reform will improve governance.

Earlier, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, had criticised the government over the issue, saying the move will adversely affect the reservation policy in the country.