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

New Delhi: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday accused Rahul Gandhi of spreading lies using an "imported toolkit" as he denounced the Congress leader's claims that eligible candidates from SC, ST, and OBC communities were being deliberately declared 'not found suitable' to keep them away from education and leadership.

Pradhan alleged Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party have become "biggest brand ambassadors of lies and deceit" in the country and that it is the Congress' Nehru-Gandhi family which has always betrayed the SC, ST and OBC population but the "prince" is unaware of his "royal family's history".

"That is why the Congress regularly appears with its pack of lies based on imported toolkit," he 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.

‘Not Found Suitable’ अब नया मनुवाद है।

SC/ST/OBC के योग्य उम्मीदवारों को जानबूझकर ‘अयोग्य’ ठहराया जा रहा है - ताकि वे शिक्षा और नेतृत्व से दूर रहें।

बाबासाहेब ने कहा था: शिक्षा बराबरी के लिए सबसे बड़ा हथियार है। लेकिन मोदी सरकार उस हथियार को कुंद करने में जुटी है।

दिल्ली… pic.twitter.com/JfPe1xxQdm

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 27, 2025

Pradhan rebutted Rahul Gandhi's claim with data on the appointments of teachers in central universities.

"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," he said in a post on X, in an apparent reference to Rahul Gandhi.

"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," he added.

राहुल गांधी और पूरी कांग्रेस पार्टी आज देश में झूठ और फरेब की सबसे बड़ी brand ambassador बन चुकी है। SC, ST और OBC को कांग्रेस के शाही परिवार ने हमेशा छला है, मगर शहज़ादे को अपने ही परिवार का वंचित और दलित विरोधी इतिहास पता नहीं है। इसीलिए आए दिन कांग्रेस आयातित toolkit के आधार… https://t.co/6DrYKEGIbX

— Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) May 27, 2025

Pradhan informed 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.

"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," he added.