Kerala   

Rein in State leadership, Baby tells Congress high command

Baby says there is no basis to allegation against review panel.

NEW DELHI: Education Minister M.A. Baby on Friday accused the Congress of joining hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in opposing the secularisation of school textbooks.

Briefing mediapersons here on the ongoing controversy in the State over the textbooks, the Minister said the refusal of the Kerala unit of the Congress to call off its stir was an indication of the party’s eagerness to play the communal card in view of the impending Parliament election. Mr. Baby sought to present the State government’s case in the capital from the platform of the Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust which had spearheaded the campaign against saffronisation of textbooks during the National Democratic Alliance regime.

The Minister asked the central leadership of the Congress to rein in its State leadership and thereby uphold the scientific and secular ethos of the Constitution. “I appeal to the national leadership of the Congress to restrain the State leaders from indulging in violence and vandalism, and desist from the temptation to stoke communal passions.”

Mr. Baby also met Union Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh and briefed him about the controversy. About the meeting, he said: “I do not want to divulge the details but his immediate response will be a disappointment for those spearheading the agitation in Kerala.” The Minister said the controversy over the Class VII social science textbook had exposed how far the Congress in the State had moved away from the secular ethos of the Constitution nurtured by Jawaharlal Nehru through his life and letters. Mr. Baby said though the State government was convinced about the academic and social credentials of the textbook, it was willing to make modifications in the textbook if recommended by the 18-member committee that had been set up in the wake of the controversy to review the contents.

Referring to Congress opposition to the inclusion of a portion of Nehru’s ‘will and testament’ which reflects his antipathy to religious rites and rituals, the Minister said it was mentioned to exemplify the right of every individual to choose one’s religion; a right guaranteed by the Constitution. About the charge that freedom fighters had been ignored in the textbook, Mr. Baby sought to explain that they find mention in the second part.

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