# Congress attacks Modi govt over 8.24 lakh vacant posts, alleges backdoor end to quotas 2026-08-24T13:42:39+00:00 | India | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday attacked the central government over more than 8.24 lakh sanctioned posts lying vacant across civilian establishments, alleging that the Modi government is using a backdoor plan to end reservations. Kharge said the BJP's policy of conspiring to end constitutional rights has been exposed. In a post on X, Kharge cited a media report claiming vacant posts in the central government nearly doubled from 4.21 lakh in 2015 to 8.24 lakh by 2024. He said railways had 2.40 lakh vacant posts, defence 2.41 lakh, and the home ministry 1.10 lakh. He also claimed 5.1 lakh permanent jobs in public sector undertakings have been eliminated, while the share of contractual workers rose from 19% to 49%. "Keep government posts vacant, and the opportunity for reservations ends. Sell off PSUs, and reserved jobs end. Convert permanent jobs to contracts, and reservations end," Kharge said. He accused the BJP of opposing social justice and trying to snatch the constitutional rights of SC, ST, OBC and EWS communities without amending the Constitution. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The Congress is turning a structural problem into a political weapon ahead of state elections. Central government vacancy data has hovered around 20-23% of sanctioned strength for years, largely due to delayed recruitment, budget constraints and court cases on reservation quotas in promotions. What Kharge calls a conspiracy is for the government a slow administrative reality it has not fixed. The claim of doubled vacancies since 2015 is true in absolute numbers, but the sanctioned strength also grew over the decade, so the vacancy rate may not have doubled. The real test will come when the Department of Personnel and Training releases its own official vacancy audit, which it has not done since 2022. Watch for the next parliamentary committee report on staffing in ministries, expected by March 2025. ## Coverage - deccanchronicle.com Leads with Congress's attack on Modi government, reproduces Kharge's allegations without official rebuttal, frames vacant posts as a deliberate conspiracy. This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: BJP, Central government vacancies, Congress, Mallikarjun Kharge, reservations Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/congress-attacks-modi-govt-over-8-24-lakh-vacant-posts-alleges-backdoor-end-to-quotas/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/congress-attacks-modi-govt-over-8-24-lakh-vacant-posts-alleges-backdoor-end-to-quotas/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/