The University of Delhi on Friday rejected Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s claim that the institution uses interviews to eliminate students.
In a detailed statement, the university said that the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha should have verified the facts before making such remarks.
In a post on X, Delhi University said admissions are primarily based on Common University Entrance Test (CUET) scores and that interviews are not part of the standard admission process for most undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.
“The University of Delhi admits students primarily based on the CUET scores, and the standard admission process does not mandate interviews for most undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. If the Leader of Opposition was referring to recruitments (such as faculty positions), the University in the recent past has recruited thousands of teachers across all categories,” the University of Delhi posted.
“We strongly object to such comments, as they create a non-conducive environment in the University. The Leader of Opposition should have verified the facts before making such a statement. @EduMinOfIndia,” DU further said.
What did Rahul Gandhi say?
The Delhi University’s clarification came after Rahul Gandhi speaking at an event on Friday alleged that interviews at Delhi University are used to eliminate students on the basis of caste.
“I went to Delhi University. An interview is a method to eliminate students. They ask what your caste is, and then you fail in the interview,” Gandhi reportedly said as he addressed an event titled ‘Samvidhaan Sammelan’ in Lucknow to mark the birth anniversary of Bahujan Samaj Party founder Kanshi Ram.
The Congress leader also targeted the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), claiming that backward classes lack representation within its organisational structure, the report added.
“Take out the list of RSS organisations, those who are their pracharaks, in the centre, you will not find one OBC, one Dalit, one Adivasi. This is completely against the Constitution,” Gandhi said, as quoted by news agency ANI.
In its statement, Delhi University reiterated that admissions are conducted transparently on the basis of merit through CUET scores, and that interviews are not part of the admission process for most programmes.