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.
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