Obvious damage control: Jairam Ramesh accuses PM Modi of showcasing “fake outrage” over NCERT row

New Delhi [India], February 27 (ANI): Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of expressing "fake outrage" over the NCERT issue, calling it a "damage control" exercise.
In an 'X' post, Ramesh further called the controversy not an accidental mistake but a part of "systematic indoctrination campaign." He further accused the Prime Minister of leading a false network consisting of academically false people, which have damage by "grave damage" to textbooks with his brand of "ideological virus."
"After demonstrating real moral cowardice in Israel, the Prime Minister is expressing fake outrage on the NCERT books issue. In an obviously 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," Ramesh wrote on 'X'.
Taking an indirect jibe at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Ramesh asserted that PM Modi has guided and shaped the "Nagpur Communal Ecosystem" for rewriting textbooks and called it sheer hypocrisy to distance himself from the textbooks that have "rightly agitated the Supreme Court."
"Mr. Modi has himself guided and shaped the Nagpur Communal Ecosystem for Rewriting of Textbooks--which is the real NCERT. It is sheer hypocrisy on his part to distance himself from the textbooks that have rightly agitated the Supreme Court. The next logical step for the Supreme Court to take is to institute a full-fledged investigation into how textbooks have come to be rewritten and how they have become instruments of polarisation and political score-settling," Jairam Ramesh added.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday supported the Supreme Court of India issuing show cause notices to senior officials of the Education Ministry and the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) over a sub-chapter titled "Corruption in the judiciary" in a Class 8 Social Science textbook.
Expressing "regret" on behalf of the government and the Education Ministry, Pradhan said that he directed the NCERT to withdraw and cancel all books.
Speaking to ANI here, Pradhan said, "We respect the judiciary. Whatever happened is unfortunate. I express regret on behalf of the govt as well as on a personal level. As soon as I came to know 2 days back, I directed the NCERT to withdraw and cancel all books. We have no intention for contempt of our judicial system. Whatever the Supreme Court ordered will be followed. I have given responsibility to my department secretary that action be taken against whoever added such an irresponsible chapter in the NCERT book. We are taking this very seriously."
The Supreme Court issued show cause notices to the Secretary of the Department of Education and Literacy (Ministry of Education) and NCERT Director Dinesh Prashad Saklani, asking them to explain why action should not be taken under contempt or other laws for including a sub-chapter titled "Corruption in the judiciary" in the Class 8 NCERT Social Science textbook.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice Vipul M Pancholi refused to halt suo motu proceedings despite NCERT's apology over the controversial inclusion and imposed a blanket ban on the textbook section. The court warned that any attempt to bypass the order would be considered direct interference with the administration of justice and could attract contempt of court. (ANI)