Victory for Social Justice: TN CM Celebrates Lateral Entry Withdrawal

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin hailed the Central government's decision to withdraw lateral entry recruitment amid opposition from the INDIA bloc as a win for social justice. He urged the opposition to be vigilant against future attempts to undermine reservation and called for a nationwide caste census.

The Central government's decision to withdraw the lateral entry recruitment following opposition from the INDIA bloc was a victory for social justice, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin said on Tuesday and appealed to the opposition to remain vigilant.

He claimed that the Centre would attempt to undermine reservation through various forms and underscored the need for opposition parties to remain alert.

'Victory for #SocialJustice! The Union Govt has withdrawn the lateral entry recruitment after strong opposition from our #INDIA bloc,' Stalin said in a post on X. 'But we must remain vigilant, as the Union BJP Govt will try to undermine reservation through various forms,' he further said.

Stalin, who earlier in the day lashed out at the Centre over the attempt to introduce lateral entry into bureaucracy as a 'direct assault on social justice,' said the arbitrary 50 per cent ceiling on reservation must be broken, and a nationwide Caste census was essential to protect the rights of the backward and oppressed.

Conveying his opposition to the move by the Union Public Service Commission to recruit 45 joint secretaries, directors, and deputy secretaries through lateral entry, Stalin had said in the earlier post on X that '#LateralEntry is a direct assault on #SocialJustice, depriving the meritorious SC, ST, OBC and minority officers of their deserved opportunities at the top.' However, the UPSC cancelled its latest advertisement to fill the key posts in government departments through lateral entry after Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh wrote to the Commission's Chairperson Preeti Sudan to cancel it so that the marginalised communities obtained their rightful representation in government services.

In the post, Stalin called upon the Central government to prioritise filling backlog vacancies for OBCs, SC/STs, and ensure fair and equitable promotions.

Demanding the complete abolition of the creamy layer, a concept that the DMK always opposed, he said 'Above all, a nationwide #CasteCensus is imperative to guarantee that educational and job opportunities are justly distributed to all backward and oppressed sections of our society, who have been historically denied their rightful share.'

(With inputs from agencies.)