NEW DELHI: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has strongly criticised Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge over his recent allegations that the BJP has “snatched” the reservation rights of Central University teachers.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Pradhan addressed Kharge's claims, stating that during the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) administration, the number of vacant teaching positions in Central Universities stood at 37 per cent. He asserted that this figure has since decreased to 26.8 percent under the Modi government.
“Congress Party is in the habit of lying. When one lie does not last long, they come up with another lie. Whereas, the truth is crystal clear. In 2014, during the Congress UPA government, there were 16,217 sanctioned posts in Central Universities, out of which 6,042 posts—37 per cent of the total—were vacant,” he wrote.
He noted that vacancies were particularly high among reserved categories, with 57 per centof Scheduled Castes (SC), 63 per centof Scheduled Tribes (ST), and 60% of Other Backward Classes (OBC) positions remaining unfilled.
Pradhan claimed that the Modi government is working rapidly to fill these vacancies, stating, “This is the reason that despite the increase in the number of sanctioned posts (18,940) in 2024 compared to 2014, the total number of vacant posts has decreased from 37 per centto 26.8 per centtoday. During the last two years, more than 6,890 teaching posts have been recruited on mission mode, in which 939 (13.6 per cent) are from SC, 464 (6.7 per cent) are ST, 1,535 (22.27 per cent) are OBC, and 348 (5.05 per cent) are from the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS). Recruitment to vacant posts in central universities is a continuous process that is going on at an unprecedented pace.”
He further accused Kharge of following the lead of Rahul Gandhi in spreading confusion regarding Central Universities.
“The Congress Party should explain why it kept the Dalits, the oppressed, and the backward classes deprived of their rights despite ruling the country for 60 years. What was the reason that they did not get representation in various educational institutions of the country?” he added.
Pradhan pointed to the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers' Cadre) Act, 2019, passed by the Modi government, which aims to eliminate barriers related to the reservation of teaching posts in central educational institutions for SC, ST, and socially and educationally backward classes.
“Now when the Modi government is giving representation to the backward and the underprivileged, the Congress party, as always, is standing against the rights of the backward classes. The Congress Party has no right to talk about the backward classes because for decades they have worked to snatch the rights of SC, ST, and OBC, and it is only the government of Prime Minister Modi that has worked to give rights not only to SC, ST, and OBC, but also to the economically weaker EWS class,” he stated.
Pradhan acknowledged Kharge's seniority but dismissed his claims as unfounded: “Kharge is much older than me in age and I respect him. But the lie he has resorted to please Gandhi is completely baseless. Rahul Gandhi is a bundle of lies and these people had come out in Haryana with the same lie. But the public has shown them the mirror and now in panic, the Congress party is again creating a conspiracy of baseless lies, which is not going to last.”
On Saturday, Kharge had alleged that the BJP had “snatched the right of reservation of teachers in Central University.” He cited an RTI, stating that “of the sanctioned 18,940 teaching posts in 46 central universities, 27 percent of the teaching posts are vacant.” He further claimed that more than 38 per cent of SC, ST, and OBC reserved posts remain unfilled, with 32.1 per cent of vacant seats belonging to SC, 40.3 per centto ST, and 41.8 per centto OBC.
Kharge also noted that 55 percent of professor positions and 71 percent of EWS category teaching roles are still to be filled. He concluded, “Modi government’s slogan ‘Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas’ mocks the fight for social justice by snubbing it,” adding that more than 47 per cent of the 35,640 non-teaching posts are also vacant.