Lucknow, Aug. 28 -- Sarojini Nagar MLA Rajeshwar Singh on Thursday accused the Samajwadi Party of opposing lateral entry into government service for "political convenience" rather than concerns over merit. Singh said the SP's criticism of lateral entry was contradictory, citing the appointment of Anil Yadav as UPPSC chairman during the party's rule. He referred to reports of 17 criminal cases against Yadav, including dacoity, and said allegations of bias in PCS interviews during his tenure had eventually reached the Supreme Court. Defending lateral entry, Singh said specialised expertise was increasingly required to address complex governance challenges in specific areas. He cited the UK, US, Singapore and New Zealand as countries that use external experts in government. Singh also pointed to India's own experience, citing former prime minister Manmohan Singh and Sam Pitroda as examples of professionals who entered public service outside the traditional UPSC route. In UP, Singh advocated induction of domain experts into institutions including the AI Commission and State Transformation Commission....