Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday attacked the Congress for alleging that right of reservation of teachers in central universities was being snatched.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday accused the Centre of taking away the right of reservation of teachers in central universities and claimed that the “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas” slogan mocked the fight for social justice.

Kharge said an RTI query had revealed that of the 18,940 sanctioned posts in 46 central universities, 27 per cent teaching posts were lying vacant.

“Congress party is in habit of lying. When one lie does not last, 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 posts -- were vacant. 57 per cent, 63 per cent and 60 per cent posts of SCs, STs and OBCs were vacant,” Pradhan said in a social media post.

The minister said the Narendra Modi government was rapidly filling all vacant posts by taking every section along. “This is the reason that despite the increase in the number of sanctioned posts (18,940) in 2024 as compared to 2014, the total number of vacant posts has decreased from 37 to 26.8 per cent today. 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) ST, 1,535 (22.27 per cent) OBC and 348 (5.05 per cent) are from EWS,” he further said.

“Recruitment to vacant posts in central universities is a continuous process which is going on at an unprecedented pace,” he added.

Alleging that Kharge had followed the footsteps of former party chief Rahul Gandhi to spread confusion regarding central universities, Pradhan claimed that the Congress should explain why it kept the Dalits, 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? Congress party has no right to talk about backward classes. Because for decades you have worked to snatch the rights of SCs, STs and OBCs and it is only the government of the honourable Prime Minister Modi ji that has worked to give rights not only to SCs, STs and OBCs but also to the economically weaker EWS class,” he said.