Congress slams NCERT textbook revisions, terms process as ‘RSS-driven exercise’

New Delhi, Feb 26 (IANS) Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Jairam Ramesh on Thursday criticised the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) for including critical references to the judiciary in its textbooks.

Reacting to the Supreme Court’s observations on the matter, Ramesh described the decade-long rewriting of textbooks as “disgraceful” and “dangerous.”

In a post on X, the Rajya Sabha MP alleged the revisions were an “RSS-driven exercise full of mischief and malice”.

“The Supreme Court is rightly agitated over critical references to the judiciary in NCERT textbooks. Actually, the way NCERT textbooks have been rewritten over the past decade is disgraceful, apart from being dangerous as well. It has been an RSS-driven exercise full of mischief and malice. It is this racket that needs to be investigated,” he said in the X post.

The Supreme Court on Thursday came down heavily on the NCERT over references to “corruption in the judiciary” in a Class 8 Social Science textbook, observing that the controversy appeared to be the result of a “calculated move” that has left the judiciary “bleeding”.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, hearing a suo motu case titled “In Re: Social Science Textbook for Grade–8 (Part-2) published by NCERT and ancillary issues”, passed a series of sweeping interim directions, including an immediate nationwide seizure of the textbook, takedown of digital copies and a complete ban on its publication or circulation.

Recording its prima facie view that the publication reflected “a calculated move to undermine the institutional authority and demean the dignity of the judiciary,” the Bench, also comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi, warned that allowing such narratives to remain unchecked would erode public confidence.

The apex court observed that while the chapter purported to discuss the role of the judiciary, it failed to acknowledge the institution’s historic contributions, including safeguarding constitutional morality, upholding the basic structure doctrine, and strengthening access to justice through legal aid reforms.

Issuing show-cause notices, the CJI Surya Kant-led Bench directed the Secretary, Department of School Education, Ministry of Education, and NCERT Director Dr Dinesh Prasad Saklani to explain why action under the Contempt of Courts Act or other applicable laws should not be initiated against them or those responsible for drafting the controversial chapter.

The apex court ordered NCERT, in coordination with Union and State education authorities, to immediately seize and remove all physical and digital copies of the book from schools, retail outlets, storage facilities, and online platforms.

It fixed personal responsibility on the NCERT Director and school authorities to ensure sealing and withdrawal of all copies and directed Principal Secretaries of Education across states to submit compliance reports within two weeks.

–IANS

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