Rahul, Congress 'biggest brand ambassadors of lies, deceit': Pradhan hits back over anti-reservation jibe

New Delhi: Slamming Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his remarks on the issue of faculty appointments under reserved categories, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday said the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha is spreading lies using an "imported toolkit"

"Rahul Gandhi and the entire Congress party have become the biggest brand ambassadors of lies and deceit in the country today," Pradhan posted on X.

"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, " the minister said.

"The Congress party has jaundice, that is why they see everything in yellow colour, or rather they see bad in everything good," the minister said while drawing a favourable comparison of the successful applicants from these communities during the BJP government since 2014 against the data in the Congress' rule between 2004-14.

Earlier on Tuesday, Rahul Gandhi took to X sharing a video of his recent interaction with students of the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU).

"Not Found Suitable' is the new Manuvaad now. Eligible candidates from SC/ST/OBC are being deliberately declared 'unsuitable' so that they are kept away from education and leadership," the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said in his post in Hindi.

Rebutting Rahul Gandhi's claim, Pradhan said, "Even after ruling for a long time, Congress kept Dalits, backward and exploited people deprived of their rights. When UPA government left in 2014, 57 pc SC, 63 pc ST and 60 pc OBC teacher posts were vacant in central universities."

Pradhan said that 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.

".....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. Modi ji's government itself abolished the requirement of PhD for Assistant Professor," he added.

"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.

"This NFS was continuing till now due to the policy of the Congress after independence, due to which the rights of SC, ST and OBC were being violated," Pradhan added.