Blitz Bureau
BJP’s key allies, including Lok Janshakti Party, Hindustan Awami Morcha as well as Janata Dal (United), have welcomed the Centre’s decision to withdraw the contentious lateral entry proposal into various ministries and Government departments.
LJP chief Chirag Paswan expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for listening and addressing the ‘pain’ of backward classes. “We thank the Prime Minister for taking back the partisan proposal and making course corrections for the benefit of all communities including the backward and marginalised classes. This shows PM Modi’s firm belief in ensuring principles of social justice,” Paswan said.
He also said that his party lodged a protest against the lateral entry program on the grounds that since previous governments didn’t give weightage to the reservation, it didn’t mean that we should also follow the same precedent. HAM chief Jitan Ram Manjhi welcomed the rollback order and said that this was a step in the right direction and also credited the Prime Minister for the move.
“PM Modi has rightly taken note of the public sentiment and ordered the cancellation of UPSC advertisement.” He however added that this is not the first instance, there is a long precedent of hiring lateral entrants. Even during the Jawahar Lal Nehru tenure, eminent people were hired laterally but there was never a hue and cry. Also, they never made any effort to include the deprived and marginalised in the system, he said.