NEW DELHI: The Congress on Friday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the NCERT row, saying he has himself guided and shaped the "Nagpur Communal Ecosystem for Rewriting of Textbooks", which it claims is the real NCERT.
The opposition party said the next logical step for the Supreme Court would be to institute a full-fledged investigation into how textbooks came to be rewritten and how they became instruments of polarisation and political score-settling. Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, alleged that over the last decade the Prime Minister has presided over a network of “academic quacks” who have done grave damage by infecting textbooks with their brand of ideological virus.
The Congress’ attack on the government came a day after the Supreme Court imposed a “complete blanket ban” on any further publication, reprinting or digital dissemination of the NCERT’s Class 8 social science book, stating that it contained “offending” content on corruption in the judiciary and remarking that a gunshot had been fired and the institution was bleeding.
The government, for its part, expressed anguish over the inclusion of the controversial section in the book, with Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan promising to fix accountability and take action against those involved in drafting it.
In a post on X, Ramesh said, “After demonstrating real moral cowardice in Israel, the Prime Minister is expressing fake outrage on the NCERT books issue. In an obvious damage control exercise, he is letting it be known that he is extremely unhappy with the critical references to the judiciary in NCERT textbooks.
“Over the past decade, he has presided over a network of academic quacks who have done grave damage by infecting textbooks with their brand of ideological virus. These are not accidental oversights but part of a systematic indoctrination campaign.
“Mr Modi has himself guided and shaped the Nagpur Communal Ecosystem for Rewriting of Textbooks, which is the real NCERT,” the Congress leader said.
It is sheer hypocrisy on his part to distance himself from the textbooks that have rightly agitated the Supreme Court, Ramesh added.
The next logical step for the Supreme Court, he said, would be to institute a full-fledged investigation into how textbooks came to be rewritten and how they became instruments of polarisation and political score-settling.
Observing that there appeared to be a “deep-rooted conspiracy” and a “calculated move” to undermine the institution and demean the dignity of the judiciary, the Supreme Court directed that all copies of the book, physical and digital, currently in circulation be seized immediately and removed from public access without delay.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant issued show-cause notices to the NCERT director and the secretary of the Department of School Education, asking them to explain why action should not be initiated against those found responsible for introducing the “offending” chapter.
The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) social science textbook for Class 8 in question states that corruption, a massive backlog of cases and the lack of an adequate number of judges are among the challenges faced by the judicial system.
After stern observations by the top court that it would not allow “anyone on earth” to tarnish the judiciary’s integrity, the NCERT withdrew the textbook from its website, apologised for the “inappropriate content” and said it would be rewritten in consultation with the appropriate authorities.
The apex court warned that any attempt to circumvent its order through electronic means or alternative titles containing the same content would be treated as direct interference, wilful breach and defiance of its directions.