Union Education Minister and senior BJP leader Dharmendra Pradhan hit back sharply at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his recent criticism of the Modi government on the issue of faculty appointments under reserved categories. In a blistering statement, Pradhan accused the Congress party of decades-long betrayal of Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs), calling the party the "biggest brand ambassadors of lies and deceit in the country today".
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi had earlier claimed that the Modi government was sidelining qualified SC/ST/OBC candidates by labelling them "Not Found Suitable" (NFS) in faculty recruitments. "NFS is an attack on the Constitution. NFS is a betrayal of social justice," Gandhi said in a post on X (formerly Twitter), alleging a broader conspiracy against reservation policies in institutions like IITs, Central Universities, and Delhi University.
Responding to this, Dharmendra Pradhan said, "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 further criticised the UPA government's track record, stating 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 Honourable Prime Minister Modi," he said.
Minister cites data to show improved recruitment of SC, ST, OBC faculty
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 to key reforms brought in under the Modi government, including doing away with the PhD requirement for assistant professor roles and enacting legislation to safeguard reservation.
BJP leader accuses Congress for existence of 'NFS' category
"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.
According to the Education Minister, this act ensures that "the posts reserved for SC, ST and OBC classes will not be filled by any other class, this is the gift of Prime Minister Modi."
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."
Congress itself is the biggest attack on Babasaheb's Constitution: Pradhan
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."
Concluding his remarks, Pradhan said the youth of India recognise who has worked for real social justice: "No matter how many lies the Congress spreads, the youth of the country have unwavering faith in the Honourable Prime Minister Modi ji."
The debate over the "Not Found Suitable" label has sparked a fresh political flashpoint between the BJP and the Congress, especially amid growing concerns about representation in academia and public institutions.
