Over 44,000 admitted in academic year 2025-26, clarifies DU after Rahul Gandhi’s caste-bias interview claim

In response to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s caste-bias interview claim, the University of Delhi (DU) has clarified that more than 44,000 reserved category students were enrolled in the academic year 2025-26, in both UG and PG programmes, based on CUET scores.

According to DU data, 37,618 students were enrolled in UG courses, and 6,400 were admitted to the University in the 2025-26 academic year.

The University rejected Gandhi’s claim that it uses interviews to eliminate students belonging to reserved groups for admissions. It stated that it admits students based on Common University Entrance Test (CUET) scores, and that the standard admission process does not require interviews for most undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) 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. 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,” DU posted on its official X account.

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Congress leader’s claim on DU caste-bias admissions

Addressing an event in Lucknow to mark the birth anniversary of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) founder Kanshi Ram, Gandhi alleged that DU expels students based on caste. "I had gone to the Delhi University. Interview is just a way to eliminate students. They ask what your caste is, and then you fail in the interview."

He further said, targeting Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh: "Take out the list of the RSS. Those who are their pracharaks and seniors in the organisation, you will not find one OBC, one Dalit, one Adivasi among them. This is completely against the Constitution."

Gandhi’s remark further triggered a controversy, with the Indian National Teachers' Congress (INTEC) and a few DU professors, including academic and executive council members, pointing to public records showing that in several departments, despite a large number of teaching posts being advertised under the unreserved categories, qualified students were declared "not suitable" after the interview stage.

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Over 36,000 UG, PG students admitted, says DU

In a post on the official X account, the DU has urged Gandhi to refrain from making such “unsubstantiated statements” as such remarks undermine the “learning environment” at the University.

“The University implements all its statutory mandates in the true spirit of the Constitution of India, as clearly reflected in our transparent admission and recruitment processes,” DU said in a X post.

Students enrolled in PG academic year 2025-26

Students enrolled in PG academic year 2025-26

Notably, according to the University’s data, a total of 44,018 reserved-category students were admitted in the 2025-26 academic year based on CUET scores. Furthermore, over 2,900 teachers – including librarians and physical education teachers – have been appointed since 2021.