BJP slams Rahul Gandhi for remarks on vacant reserved posts in Central varsities

New Delhi: Slamming Rahul Gandhi for his remarks on vacant reserved posts in Central universities, the BJP on Friday asked the Congress leader to tell how many faculty members were appointed during the UPA rule between 2004 and 2014 under SC, ST and OBC categories.

BJP Rajya Sabha MP and national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi also asked Rahul Gandhi to tell how many ministers belonging to the OBC category were there in the second term of the Congress-led UPA government in 2014.

Rahul Gandhi on Friday attacked the Modi government over the vacant reserved posts for SCs, STs and OBCs in Central universities, calling it not just negligence but a "well-planned conspiracy" to keep 'Bahujans' out of education, research and policy making.

In a post on X, the Congress leader demanded that all such vacant posts be filled immediately and Bahujans be given their rights, not "Manuwadi boycott".

Addressing a 'Bhagidari Nyay Sammelan' of OBCs at the Talkatora Stadium here, Rahul Gandhi acknowledged that it was his "mistake" and not that of the party that they could not get a caste census conducted earlier, saying he was correcting that now.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters here, Trivedi said, “Rahul Gandhi, a member of the Congress’ first family which violated and suppressed the aspirations of backward classes for four generations, is venting his frustration over his (party’s) defeat in elections.

“Rahul Gandhi, listen carefully – to become a professor in university, a person has to be first selected as assistant professor and then become an associate professor through a process after a certain period. This is not the post of Congress president which can be given soon after you are born.” Trivedi also said that those who are professors in universities today must have been recruited to the post of assistant professors 15 to 20 years ago.

“The Congress must tell how many assistant professors were recruited between 2004 and 2014 under the SC, ST and OBC categories,” he said.

Trivedi also demanded that the Congress must tell how many ministers from the OBC category were there in the UPA government in 2014 when it completed its second term and could not return to power after suffering defeat in the Lok Sabha elections.

“I bet they cannot tell the names of even two such ministers,” he said.