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Dharmendra Pradahan launched a scathing jibe at Rahul Gandhi over his remarks on the issue of faculty appointments under reserved categories
Dharmendra Pradhan and Rahul Gandhi. (File)
A political tussle broke out between the BJP and the Congress on Tuesday after Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi accused the government of deliberately keeping away the eligible candidates from SC, ST, and OBC communities from education and leadership.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradahan launched a scathing jibe at Gandhi over his remarks on the issue of faculty appointments under reserved categories, saying that the grand-old party has betrayed the backward classes and is the “biggest brand ambassadors of lies and deceit in the country today”.
What Rahul Gandhi Said?
The Congress leader on Tuesday alleged that eligible candidates from Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) were being deliberately declared ‘not found suitable’ to keep them away from education and leadership.
Sharing a video of his recent interaction with students of the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) on X, Gandhi said, “Not Found Suitable’ is the new Manuvaad now. Eligible candidates from SC/ST/OBC are being deliberately declared ‘unsuitable’ so that they are kept away from education and leadership.”
‘Not Found Suitable’ अब नया मनुवाद है।SC/ST/OBC के योग्य उम्मीदवारों को जानबूझकर ‘अयोग्य’ ठहराया जा रहा है – ताकि वे शिक्षा और नेतृत्व से दूर रहें।
बाबासाहेब ने कहा था: शिक्षा बराबरी के लिए सबसे बड़ा हथियार है। लेकिन मोदी सरकार उस हथियार को कुंद करने में जुटी है।
दिल्ली… pic.twitter.com/JfPe1xxQdm
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 27, 2025
Further alleging a broader conspiracy against reservation policies in institutions like IITs, Central Universities, and Delhi University, Gandhi said, “Manuvaad’ is the ethos of a society governed by Manusmriti. This is no exception – the same conspiracy is going on everywhere, IITs, Central Universities. NFS is an attack on the Constitution. NFS is a betrayal of social justice.”
BJP Responds
Senior BJP leader Dharmendra Pradhan responded to Gandhi’s allegations and acuused the grand old party of decades-long betrayal of the backward classes.
“The Congress royal family has always deceived SC, ST and OBC, but the prince does not know the history of his own family against the deprived and anti-Dalit. That is why every day the Congress, on the basis of an imported toolkit, presents a bundle full of lies for the prince,” he said in a post on X.
राहुल गांधी और पूरी कांग्रेस पार्टी आज देश में झूठ और फरेब की सबसे बड़ी brand ambassador बन चुकी है। SC, ST और OBC को कांग्रेस के शाही परिवार ने हमेशा छला है, मगर शहज़ादे को अपने ही परिवार का वंचित और दलित विरोधी इतिहास पता नहीं है। इसीलिए आए दिन कांग्रेस आयातित toolkit के आधार… https://t.co/6DrYKEGIbX— Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) May 27, 2025
He further criticised the UPA government’s track record, saying that when it left office in 2014, “57% SC, 63% ST and 60% OBC teacher posts were vacant in central universities.” Pradhan emphasised that the Modi government had actively worked to fill these positions.
“The number of vacant posts, which was 37% in 2014, is 25.95% today, and the process of filling these vacant posts is still going on in the government of Honorable Prime Minister Modi,” he added.
Citing recruitment data, Pradhan highlighted the difference between the two regimes. “During the Congress tenure from 2004-14, there were only 83 SC, 14 ST and 166 OBC faculty in IITs, whereas only 261 SC, 72 ST and 334 appointments were made in NITs. Whereas during the Modi government’s tenure from 2014-24, 398 SC, 99 ST and 746 OBC teachers were appointed in IITs and 929 SC, 265 ST and 1510 OBC teachers were appointed in NITs,” he stated.
He also pointed out reforms brought in under the Modi government, including doing away with the PhD requirement for assistant professor roles and enacting legislation to safeguard reservation.
“To liberate the deprived class from that injustice, Prime Minister Modi’s government dedicated to social justice for the first time introduced The Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teacher’s Cadre) Act, 2019, after which NFS is now history,” Pradhan said.
He blamed the historical policies of Congress for the emergence of the NFS category. “The NFS – ‘Not Found Suitable’ that Rahul Gandhi is talking about, was the result of the anti-Dalit, anti-exploited and anti-deprived Congress thinking that did politics in the name of Babasaheb.”
Attacking the Congress’s stand on the Constitution, he added, “The Congress party, which takes the name of the Constitution on every issue, is itself the biggest attack on Babasaheb’s Constitution.”
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