‎New Delhi, Feb 27 (.) Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Friday launched a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the ongoing controversy surrounding revisions in National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) textbooks, accusing him of “sheer hypocrisy” and demanding a comprehensive investigation under the supervision of the Supreme Court.
‎
Ramesh alleged that the Prime Minister was engaging in “damage control” by expressing displeasure over critical references to the judiciary in school textbooks.
‎
“After demonstrating real moral cowardice in Israel, the Prime Minister is expressing fake outrage on the NCERT books issue,” Ramesh said. “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.”
‎
The Congress general secretary further alleged that the textbook revisions were neither incidental nor inadvertent. “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,” he said.
‎
Ramesh also accused the Prime Minister of having played a central role in shaping what he described as the “Nagpur communal ecosystem for rewriting of textbooks.” Nagpur is the headquarters of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ideological parent of the ruling BJP.
‎
“Mr. Modi has himself guided and shaped the Nagpur communal ecosystem for rewriting of textbooks — which is the real NCERT,” Ramesh alleged. “It is sheer hypocrisy on his part to distance himself from the textbooks that have rightly agitated the Supreme Court.”
‎
The row erupted following reports and judicial observations regarding certain revised passages in NCERT textbooks that allegedly contain critical references to the judiciary. The revisions have sparked debate among educationists, legal experts and political parties, with critics accusing the government of attempting to reshape historical and political narratives in line with its ideological priorities.
‎
Over the past few years, NCERT has undertaken multiple rounds of textbook revisions, citing rationalisation of syllabus and removal of redundancies. However, opposition parties have repeatedly alleged that key chapters relating to constitutional values, secularism, and historical events have been altered or removed.
‎
Calling the issue a matter of institutional integrity and national importance, Ramesh urged the apex court to step in decisively.
‎
“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,” he said.
‎
The controversy is expected to intensify in the coming days as political parties trade charges over academic autonomy, ideological influence in education, and the broader question of safeguarding constitutional institutions.
. SKA MI PRS