'Not found suitable' clause weaponised against SCs, STs, OBCs to deny them job opportunities: Congress

The Congress on Sunday (July 27, 2025) slammed the Narendra Modi government over vacant reserved posts for SCs, STs, and OBCs in central universities and alleged that the "not found suitable" clause was being "weaponised" against these categories to deny them fair employment opportunities.

Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh cited a written reply in Parliament by Minister of State for Education, Sukanta Majumdar last week to attack the government.

In his reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha on July 23, Mr. Majumdar said that for the post of professor, out of 308 seats reserved for the SC community, 111 had been filled; out of 144 seats for the ST community, 24 had been filled, and out of 423 seats, 84 had been filled.

For associate professor, out of 632 posts for SCs, 308 had been filled; out of 307 posts for STs, 108 been filled; and out of 883 posts for OBCs, 275 had been filled.

For assistant professor, out of 1,370 posts for SCs, 1,180 had been filled; out of 704 posts for STs, 595 had been filled; and out of 2,382 posts for OBCs, 1,838 had been filled, the Union Minister had said.

In a post on X, Mr. Ramesh said that in its reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, the Modi government has revealed the staggering level of vacancies among SC, ST, and OBC reserved faculty positions in central universities.

“80% positions for OBCs, 83% positions for STs, and 64% positions for SCs at the professor level are vacant. In the general category, the vacancies are 39%. 69% positions for OBCs, 65% positions for STs, and 51% positions for SCs at the associate professor level are vacant. In the general category, the vacancies are 16%,” he said.

"23% positions for OBCs, 15% positions for STs, and 14% positions for SCs at the assistant professor level are vacant. In the general category, the vacancies are only 8%," he added.

While the government has claimed that it does not centrally collect data on the prevalence of "not found suitable" (NFS) during the recruitment for faculty positions, the data is unequivocal, Mr. Ramesh said.

The distinctly higher level of vacancies among reserved positions as compared to general category positions clearly points to a much higher prevalence of NFS for these candidates, he contended.

"This is clear evidence of the issue that @Rahul Gandhi has raised -- that NFS is being weaponised against SC, ST, and OBC candidates to deny them fair employment opportunities and to subvert the Constitutional provision for reservations in public employment," Mr. Ramesh said.

Mr. Gandhi on Friday also attacked the Modi government over vacant reserved posts for SCs, STs, and OBCs in central universities and said this is not just negligence but a "well-planned conspiracy" to keep "bahujans" out of education, research and policies.

He had demanded that all such vacant posts be filled immediately and 'Bahujans' be given their rights, not "Manuwadi boycott".