The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday accused the Congress of being hypocritical by opposing the Union government’s move to recruit public servants through lateral entry on a contract basis.

The BJP claimed that the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance regime had mooted the idea in 2005, and that the current National Democratic Alliance government only made the process more transparent.

However, the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) – a BJP ally – said that the lateral entry in the Union Public Service Commission was “completely wrong”, reported The Indian Express on Monday.

Party president and Union minister Chirag Paswan said that the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) was absolutely not in favour of such appointments.

“Wherever there are government appointments, the provisions of reservation must be followed,” he said. Paswan also said that the manner in which the controversy had come to light was concerning, since his party is part of the National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre.

The Union Public Service Commission on Saturday issued an advertisement for recruitment through lateral entry to 45 positions of joint secretaries, directors, and deputy secretaries across 24 Union ministries. The Opposition alleged that through such hiring, the government was conspiring to undermine reservations in public sector jobs for marginalised communities.

In response, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the second Administrative Reforms Commission, set up during the United Progressive Alliance’s tenure in 2005, had recommended recruiting experts to “fill the gaps in roles that require specialised knowledge”.

Vaishnaw contended: “NDA government has created a transparent method to implement this recommendation. Recruitment will be done through UPSC in a transparent and fair manner. This reform will improve governance.”

Amit Malviya, the chief of the BJP’s social media cell, accused Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi of throwing Congress leader Veerappa Moily under the bus to politicise the matter and blame the current government. Moily was the chairperson of the second Administrative Reforms Commission, which was set up on August 31, 2005.

Malviya cited office memorandums issued by the department of personnel and training and a circular issued by the home ministry to claim that the National Democratic Alliance government mandated reservations for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes and Persons with Disabilities in lateral recruitment.

The BJP social media cell chief urged Gandhi to “stop lying”, and claimed that the Centre has now introduced a rules-based system for lateral hiring, as against the “ad-hocism” practiced by the United Progressive Alliance government.

Gandhi alleged on Sunday that that the decision to hire public servants in this manner was an “anti-national step”, claiming that the quotas for the marginalised communities were being “openly snatched”.

Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav also alleged that the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was seeking to undermine reservations. “The people will not forgive those who are trying to snatch the rights of 90% of the country’s population,” he asserted.

In a similar vein, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati said that if the lateral recruitment did not provide for reservations, it would be a “direct violation of the Constitution”. She also contended that due to such a policy, government employees working in junior positions would be denied promotions.