BHUBANESWAR: Leader of the Opposition and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president Naveen Patnaik on Monday demanded the resignation of Odisha school and mass education minister Nityananda Gond, holding him morally accountable for a series of alleged errors in school textbooks that have triggered a political storm in the State.
Addressing reporters, Patnaik said the inaccuracies found in textbooks prescribed for schoolchildren reflected a serious administrative failure and warranted ministerial accountability.
Drawing a parallel with former Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the former Chief Minister said Gond should step down on moral grounds and set a similar precedent. He noted that the BJD had been pressing for the Minister’s resignation for the past two to three weeks.
“There have been several mistakes in the textbooks meant for students in our State. The education minister should follow the example of Dharmendra Pradhan and resign from his post. The Biju Janata Dal has been demanding his resignation for the last two or three weeks,” Patnaik said.
The Opposition’s demand has intensified the political confrontation between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the BJD, with both sides trading charges over accountability.
Reacting sharply, BJP legislator Laxman Bag accused Patnaik of selectively invoking the principle of ministerial responsibility while ignoring controversies during the BJD’s 24-year rule.
“Naveen Babu only knows how to demand resignations. During the previous BJD government, there were numerous lapses. How many ministers resigned then?” Mr. Bag asked.
He further alleged that ministers facing controversies under the previous dispensation continued in office with the backing of the then Chief Minister.
“The BJP’s double-engine government functions differently. It is a government committed to consultation and accountability. Whatever decision the party leadership takes on the issue, we will abide by it,” he said.
The controversy has also drawn in the Congress. On Sunday, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Bhakta Charan Das demanded Gond’s resignation, alleging that the textbook errors reflected gross negligence in the school and mass education department.
The row comes against the backdrop of mounting criticism over inaccuracies detected in school textbooks, an issue that has emerged as a fresh flashpoint in Odisha’s political discourse, with the Opposition accusing the government of compromising educational standards and the ruling BJP countering with allegations of political opportunism.
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