Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has strongly responded to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s criticism of the draft UGC guidelines on the “de-reservation” of posts in higher education institutions. Pradhan accused Gandhi of basing his politics entirely on falsehoods and challenged him to provide concrete evidence supporting his claims or publicly apologize for spreading lies.

The draft guidelines became a source of political controversy, with Gandhi alleging a “conspiracy” to eliminate reservations for SC, ST, and OBC categories. The Congress party went further, demanding the dismissal of UGC Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar.

Pradhan, in his response, highlighted that out of the 6,080 appointments made, 14.3% were from the Scheduled Caste (SC), 7% from the Scheduled Tribe (ST), and 23.42% from the Other Backward Classes (OBC). He emphasized that the data indicates the highest number of appointments in reserved posts in central universities under the Narendra Modi government.

The minister accused Rahul Gandhi and the Congress of spreading false propaganda, specifically refuting claims that SCs constituted only 7.1%, STs 1.6%, and OBCs 4.5% of these appointments. He criticized the Congress for its historical habit of creating social divisions and instability through the dissemination of lies, alleging that the party’s fundamental character is anti-SC-ST-OBC.

Pradhan argued that the Congress’s anti-SC-ST-OBC stance is surfacing again, contrasting with the efforts of the Modi government to empower deprived sections. Meanwhile, the Congress continued its attack on UGC Chairman Kumar, demanding his dismissal and claiming that the draft guidelines aimed to “de-reserve” posts for SC, ST, and OBC candidates. Gandhi alleged a conspiracy by the BJP-RSS to eliminate the participation of deprived sections in higher education institutions, emphasizing the number of vacant reserved posts and the perceived reduction in representation for marginalized communities.