New Delhi, July 25: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday launched a sharp counterattack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his recent remarks concerning the representation of Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

Speaking to reporters, Pradhan accused the Congress party of being ideologically bankrupt and historically opposed to the empowerment of marginalized communities.

“The Congress party is bankrupt — its leaders, its policies, and its rhetoric,” Pradhan said, adding that the party has consistently resisted affirmative action for SC, ST, and OBC groups since independence. He cited examples from history, alleging that leaders from Jawaharlal Nehru to Rajiv Gandhi opposed reservation policies, including the Mandal Commission recommendations.

Pradhan emphasized that for the first time in independent India, the country has been led by an OBC Prime Minister — Narendra Modi — for the past 11 consecutive years, a fact he claimed Congress finds difficult to accept. “Congress has always been uncomfortable with the rise of leaders from backward communities,” he said.

Referring to a controversial incident from the past, Pradhan recalled how Sitaram Kesari, a senior OBC leader, was allegedly locked in a bathroom to make way for Sonia Gandhi’s leadership in the Congress party. “That was a shameful episode that reflects Congress’s attitude toward backward classes,” he added.

Pradhan also challenged Rahul Gandhi to a public debate on the issue of reservation and inclusivity, asserting that the Modi government has enacted laws like the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers’ Cadre) Act, 2019, to ensure fair representation in academia.

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