The members of the Lok Sabha were united on Monday in criticising cartoons in National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) books, which, according to them, denigrated political leaders. They were particularly angered at the cartoon of B R Ambedkar and Jawaharlal Nehru. The government promised that all objectionable material would be removed and the role of NCERT advisers probed.
'We ordered withdrawal of the Ambedkar cartoon on 26 April. The role of the NCERT advisers would be probed,' the Union human resource development minister Kapil Sibal told the Lok Sabha, after the members expressed their concern over the issue during the Zero Hour.
'The government appreciates the concern of the house. I have reviewed the Class XI book on political science and found many cartoons in it were offensive... We will ensure that only educationally appropriate material goes into NCERT books,' he said, adding that the distribution of the books has been stopped. Sibal also said that the NCERT advisers Suhas Palshikar and Yogendra Yadav had resigned over the issue.
Earlier, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) used the opportunity to demand Sibal's removal. 'Of late, I have noticed a tendency among some people to denigrate politicians, parliamentarians and even Parliament... Just removing the cartoons from the text books would not do... The HRD minister Kapil Sibal should go,' BJP leader Yashwant Sinha said. He said that these books have an impact on 'impressionable minds'. The BJP ally and Janata Dal (United) leader Sharad Yadav supported his view. 'Sibal should be removed, so that the future HRD ministers are cautious,' he said.
On 11 May, Sibal had assured the house that all 'objectionable' material from the NCERT books would be removed.
Stating that 'bashing the politicians has become a fashion', the Congress MP Sanjay Nirupam said that the role of the NCERT advisers needed to be probed. 'Who are these so-called intellectuals,' asked Nirupam.
The Left parties, too, said that the trend of showing the politicians in bad light was not good for the country. 'The whole country is being polluted... There is a general atmosphere that all politicians are thieves,' said the Communist Party of India leader Gurudas Dasgupta.
Observing that the issue did not concern any single party, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Lalu Prasad Yadav said, 'It brought the parliamentarians together.' Recalling a 1980 cartoon which depicted him as a dacoit, the Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said that the house should take the issue seriously.
In an emotional outburst against cartoons denigrating politicians, the Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal said that there was 'a wave of revulsion against politicians'.
However, the National Conference leader Sharifuddin Shariq said that the parliamentarians should not be irked if some cartoons have been published against them.
'We ordered withdrawal of the Ambedkar cartoon on 26 April. The role of the NCERT advisers would be probed,' the Union human resource development minister Kapil Sibal told the Lok Sabha, after the members expressed their concern over the issue during the Zero Hour.
'The government appreciates the concern of the house. I have reviewed the Class XI book on political science and found many cartoons in it were offensive... We will ensure that only educationally appropriate material goes into NCERT books,' he said, adding that the distribution of the books has been stopped. Sibal also said that the NCERT advisers Suhas Palshikar and Yogendra Yadav had resigned over the issue.
Earlier, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) used the opportunity to demand Sibal's removal. 'Of late, I have noticed a tendency among some people to denigrate politicians, parliamentarians and even Parliament... Just removing the cartoons from the text books would not do... The HRD minister Kapil Sibal should go,' BJP leader Yashwant Sinha said. He said that these books have an impact on 'impressionable minds'. The BJP ally and Janata Dal (United) leader Sharad Yadav supported his view. 'Sibal should be removed, so that the future HRD ministers are cautious,' he said.
On 11 May, Sibal had assured the house that all 'objectionable' material from the NCERT books would be removed.
Stating that 'bashing the politicians has become a fashion', the Congress MP Sanjay Nirupam said that the role of the NCERT advisers needed to be probed. 'Who are these so-called intellectuals,' asked Nirupam.
The Left parties, too, said that the trend of showing the politicians in bad light was not good for the country. 'The whole country is being polluted... There is a general atmosphere that all politicians are thieves,' said the Communist Party of India leader Gurudas Dasgupta.
Observing that the issue did not concern any single party, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Lalu Prasad Yadav said, 'It brought the parliamentarians together.' Recalling a 1980 cartoon which depicted him as a dacoit, the Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said that the house should take the issue seriously.
In an emotional outburst against cartoons denigrating politicians, the Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal said that there was 'a wave of revulsion against politicians'.
However, the National Conference leader Sharifuddin Shariq said that the parliamentarians should not be irked if some cartoons have been published against them.