The Union Ministry of Education has sought a report from the West Bengal government over asking students to identify ‘Azad Kashmir’ on India’s map in a question in a test paper for the class X examination of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) for the 2022-2023 session.Education Ministry sources said that the explanation was sought on Wednesday after the issue triggered a controversy in West Bengal, where the BJP accused the Trinamool Congress government in the state of being “pro-separatist”.“The ministry has taken a serious view of the matter. For now, it has sought a factual report outlining the circumstances that lead to the lapse along with an Action Taken Report from the West Bengal education department,” said the source.While such interventions by the Centre on state board exams, which come under the purview of the state governments, are rare, in 2022, the Education Ministry had sought a response from the Rajasthan government over the issue of Congress party featuring in six questions of the class XII Political Science exam paper of the state board of secondary education.
A question in a test paper for the class-10 examination (also Madhyamik) of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) for the 2022-2023 session asking the students to identify ‘Azad Kashmir’ on India’s map has stoked a controversy, with the Union Education Ministry asking the state government to probe the matter.Also, taking a strong exception to the development, the BJP accused the Trinammol Congress government in the state of being “pro-separatist”.In the test paper, Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) has allegedly been referred to as “Azad Kashmir”. A screenshot of page 132 of the history test paper is being circulated on social media.The WBBSE releases a compilation of test papers every year ahead of the board examination. The test papers generally containing Class 10 pre-board questions framed by different schools affiliated to the board. The questionon page 132 of the test paper is of Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Vidyamandir, Malda.Union Minister of State for Education Subhash Sarkar asked the Bengal Education Minister to probe the matter. “There is a subtle anti-nationalist tone to it. All this will encourage the cause of separatist elements. We need to know who is behind it. Action should be taken against the guilty. It could well be a result of the state government’s policy of appeasement,” he said.State Education Minister Bratya Basu assured “strong action” will be taken against those at fault”. WBBSE president Ramanuj Gangopadhyay said, “Since it came to our notice, we are trying to correct it and find out what happened. We will talk to people who framed the question and those who edited the paper. Action will be taken after that.”BJP MP and party’s national vice-president Dilip Ghosh wrote on social media, “The Mamata government is a supporter of separatists. Pakistan Occupied Kashmir has been asked to be identified as Azad Kashmir. This state government is not only supporting militants, but also trying to create anti-India mentality among young students.”Congress leader Pradeep Bhattacharya said that “such questions should be avoided”.TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, “It is not possible to comment without seeing whether it is written to condemn, to oppose or to make people understand a situation. But we do not accept the such a thing.”
As part of its “second guarantee” ahead of the Karnataka Assembly elections, the Congress unveiled the ‘Gruha Lakshmi Scheme’ Monday, promising Rs 2,000 per month to each woman head of a family. As the Congress hails it as a game changer to get women into the party fold, MLA and former chief of the Karnataka Congress’s women’s wing, Laxmi Hebbalkar, explains the party’s reasoning and why it expects the scheme to work:What is the Congress’s objective behind the promise of Rs 2,000 per woman head of a household?HEBBALKAR: This assurance is part of our election manifesto. Our promise is in response to growing inflation, which is driving an increase in prices of all essential goods. With this scheme, we want to especially strengthen rural women. At a time when prices of gas cylinders, oil and other goods are rising, we want to provide women some relief. If we give them a subsidy for LPG, they will get only that. Giving them money is better as some large families require two gas cylinders per month and some can make do with just one.Just giving subsidies is a sort of injustice to large families. But with the money, they can decide whether they want to buy gas or other essential items. This is the intention… Every woman head of a family, irrespective of its economic situation, is eligible. For instance, if my mother wants Rs 2,000, she can claim it. We have also promised 200 units of free electricity for everyone.Are you expecting electoral dividends, with more women voting for the Congress?HEBBALKAR: This is election time. If I deny and say that this was not done with elections in mind, it would not be fair. Of course, we have announced this popular programme aimed at women keeping the coming Assembly elections in mind. This is like Anna Bhagya (a scheme offering grains at a very low price to all families, launched by then Congress chief minister Siddaramaiah in 2013).Yes, this money can be used for women’s benefit. She can purchase her medicines or whatever she requires with the amount.Do you think such measures can help overcome caste-based politics and force parties to keep gender issues in mind?HEBBALKAR: I can only say that this will help the party. We will gain the confidence of women, we will get the support of her family. We think that one woman is not a single vote, but is equivalent to five votes. She can influence her husband, son, in-laws.You talk of empowering women, is the Congress also thinking in terms of increasing their representation in the Legislature?HEBBALKAR: For many years, the party has strived for upliftment of women. Even today (January 16), Siddaramaiah spoke about the women’s reservation Bill (at a rally attended by AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi). During UPA-II, (Congress leader) Sonia Gandhi tabled the Bill to ensure reservation for women in the Lok Sabha. This was not passed due to opposition by some parties. But now, we are seriously considering providing more and more opportunities to women.However, we all know that winning is a criteria (in elections). And me, Roopakala M (Kolar Gold Fields MLA), Anjali Nimbalkar (Khanapur) and Sowmya Reddy (Jayanagar) won from four constituencies where the Congress had rarely won. We have proved that women can win in constituencies where the party had lost hope. We are giving our own example to the party high command and trying to convince them to give tickets to women in such constituencies. We have assured the party that we will fight and come back with a victory. This time we hope that due to the influence of Priyanka Gandhi, Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar, more tickets will be given to women.You represent a constituency in the Kittur Karnataka region (formerly Mumbai Karnataka). The Congress faced challenges here in the 2018 elections and performed below par. What are your plans for this election?HEBBALKAR: Whichever party, be it the Congress or BJP, wins more seats in the Kittur Karnataka region, forms the government. This time, unlike 2018, the scenario is very different (for the Congress). People of this region are fed up with price rise, corruption and other issues. They see Siddaramaiah, other Congress leaders and the party as capable of offering better governance, as was the case in the 2013 Congress government.Also, there is no internal strife among Congress leaders in the region. Compared to 2018, there are no more internal fights. This will benefit us.Since you represent the Panchamasali community, how will their reservation demand have a bearing on the coming elections?HEBBALKAR: I have to be very direct about this. The current government has to announce 2A reservation for Panchamasalis. Not only that, they have to reveal the procedure by which they will implement it. Only then can the BJP hope to make any gains from it.(The Panchamasali Lingayats have been agitating for nearly two years for 15% quota under OBC 2A category. Partly to meet this demand, the state government recently announced 2D category for the Lingayat community, along with 2C for Vokkaligas, with the promise of 6% of the 10% EWS quota. The Panchamasalis have rejected the same.)
As part of its “second guarantee” ahead of the Karnataka Assembly elections, the Congress unveiled the ‘Gruha Lakshmi Scheme’ Monday, promising Rs 2,000 per month to each woman head of a family. As the Congress hails it as a game changer to get women into the party fold, MLA and former chief of the Karnataka Congress’s women’s wing, Laxmi Hebbalkar, explains the party’s reasoning and why it expects the scheme to work:What is the Congress’s objective behind the promise of Rs 2,000 per woman head of a household?HEBBALKAR: This assurance is part of our election manifesto. Our promise is in response to growing inflation, which is driving an increase in prices of all essential goods. With this scheme, we want to especially strengthen rural women. At a time when prices of gas cylinders, oil and other goods are rising, we want to provide women some relief. If we give them a subsidy for LPG, they will get only that. Giving them money is better as some large families require two gas cylinders per month and some can make do with just one.Just giving subsidies is a sort of injustice to large families. But with the money, they can decide whether they want to buy gas or other essential items. This is the intention… Every woman head of a family, irrespective of its economic situation, is eligible. For instance, if my mother wants Rs 2,000, she can claim it. We have also promised 200 units of free electricity for everyone.Are you expecting electoral dividends, with more women voting for the Congress?HEBBALKAR: This is election time. If I deny and say that this was not done with elections in mind, it would not be fair. Of course, we have announced this popular programme aimed at women keeping the coming Assembly elections in mind. This is like Anna Bhagya (a scheme offering grains at a very low price to all families, launched by then Congress chief minister Siddaramaiah in 2013).Yes, this money can be used for women’s benefit. She can purchase her medicines or whatever she requires with the amount.Do you think such measures can help overcome caste-based politics and force parties to keep gender issues in mind?HEBBALKAR: I can only say that this will help the party. We will gain the confidence of women, we will get the support of her family. We think that one woman is not a single vote, but is equivalent to five votes. She can influence her husband, son, in-laws.You talk of empowering women, is the Congress also thinking in terms of increasing their representation in the Legislature?HEBBALKAR: For many years, the party has strived for upliftment of women. Even today (January 16), Siddaramaiah spoke about the women’s reservation Bill (at a rally attended by AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi). During UPA-II, (Congress leader) Sonia Gandhi tabled the Bill to ensure reservation for women in the Lok Sabha. This was not passed due to opposition by some parties. But now, we are seriously considering providing more and more opportunities to women.However, we all know that winning is a criteria (in elections). And me, Roopakala M (Kolar Gold Fields MLA), Anjali Nimbalkar (Khanapur) and Sowmya Reddy (Jayanagar) won from four constituencies where the Congress had rarely won. We have proved that women can win in constituencies where the party had lost hope. We are giving our own example to the party high command and trying to convince them to give tickets to women in such constituencies. We have assured the party that we will fight and come back with a victory. This time we hope that due to the influence of Priyanka Gandhi, Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar, more tickets will be given to women.You represent a constituency in the Kittur Karnataka region (formerly Mumbai Karnataka). The Congress faced challenges here in the 2018 elections and performed below par. What are your plans for this election?HEBBALKAR: Whichever party, be it the Congress or BJP, wins more seats in the Kittur Karnataka region, forms the government. This time, unlike 2018, the scenario is very different (for the Congress). People of this region are fed up with price rise, corruption and other issues. They see Siddaramaiah, other Congress leaders and the party as capable of offering better governance, as was the case in the 2013 Congress government.Also, there is no internal strife among Congress leaders in the region. Compared to 2018, there are no more internal fights. This will benefit us.Since you represent the Panchamasali community, how will their reservation demand have a bearing on the coming elections?HEBBALKAR: I have to be very direct about this. The current government has to announce 2A reservation for Panchamasalis. Not only that, they have to reveal the procedure by which they will implement it. Only then can the BJP hope to make any gains from it.(The Panchamasali Lingayats have been agitating for nearly two years for 15% quota under OBC 2A category. Partly to meet this demand, the state government recently announced 2D category for the Lingayat community, along with 2C for Vokkaligas, with the promise of 6% of the 10% EWS quota. The Panchamasalis have rejected the same.)
On the fifth day of the Punjab leg of his Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul Gandhi trained his guns on Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, his AAP government and party supremo Arvind Kejriwal saying that Punjab should be run from the state and not from Delhi.Addressing a gathering in Urmar Tanda in Hoshiarpur district, the Congress leader said, “Last thing I want to tell Punjab. See, every state of India has its history, way of living and Punjab should be run from Punjab only…I have said a very deep thing. Punjab should not be run from Delhi. Punjab should be run from Punjab only and I want to tell this thing to the Punjab chief minister, want to tell this thing to Bhagwant Mann-ji that Punjab should be run by Punjab only and not under any influence by Delhi and Bhagwant Mann should not be under any pressure from (Arvind) Kejriwal-ji.”“This is about the history and honour of Punjab. You should work here independently. The Punjab CM should listen to what is in the hearts of the farmers and labourers in the state and work accordingly and should not become someone’s remote control.” Gandhi further said. “Understand this thing that whenever the Congress ruled Punjab, we adopted this philosophy. Punjab CM should run Punjab.”Lashing out the BJP-led government at the Centre, Gandhi said the farmers who protested against three farm laws were tapasvis as they did not go back home for one month. He said that when he demanded two minutes of silence for the 700 farmers who died during the agitation, “the government said no one would observe silence; no one got martyred”.“The farmers were demanding the fruit of their tapasya. They were demanding the fruit of their sweat and blood. Two years later, the prime minister says it was a mistake. The PM of the nation did not talk to the farmers for even a minute. I say this with guarantee that had there been the UPA government, had Manmohan Singh-ji been the prime minister, he would have gone and talked to the farmers…Congress leaders reach out to farmers to ask what happened, what they want. But this government does not hear,” he saidGandhi also criticised the Modi government over demonetisation, GST policies, Covid response and the rejection of the land acquisition Bill. “This is an attack on tapasvis. This is a country of tapasvis and this yatra is protecting that spirit.”“The labourers of this country, small shopkeepers, small and medium businessmen, the youth of the country, they all do tapasya. When a youth prepares for an IIT exam, it is a sort of tapasya. When a student takes the exam of 10+2, that is tapasya. When a farmer sows the seed in the farm, that is tapasya. When a labourer constructs a building, that is tapasya. And our message is that in this country, a theft is being committed with the tapasvis. The one who is doing tapasya is not getting the fruit and the one who is not doing tapasya is getting the fruit. The debt of farmers will not be waived off, but debts worth lakhs of crores of rupees of two to three billionaires would be waived off,” the Congress MP said.Earlier, in the morning, Gandhi started his Yatra from Kala Bakra, near Adampur, in Jalandhar district. Historian S Irfan Habib was among those who joined him in the Yatra. Cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu’s wife Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu also joined the Yatra from Kharal Kalan, where it halted before its evening leg started.Gandhi also met the late Bahujan Samaj Party leader Kanshi Ram’s sister Swaran Kaur and Kanshi Ram Foundation chief Lakhbir Singh.The morning leg of the Yatra was dedicated to the cause of women’s empowerment as hundreds of women including MGNREGS workers and Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) walked with Gandhi. He interacted with school and college students, little girls as well as elderly women during his walk, which lasted about four hours.
Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo yatra entered its fifth day in Punjab on Monday. Punjab has three regions, namely, Majha, Malwa and Doaba. It will be Rahul’s third day in the Doaba region.Today he resumed his yatra from the Kala Bakra village near Bhogpur in Jalandhar district at 7:00 am. The first break will take place at 11:00 am in the village of Kharal Kalan. And from there it will resume at 3:00 pm and proceed towards Tanda Urmur in district Hoshiarpur on the Jalandhar Pathankot National Highway. The yatra will halt at 6:00 pm and the night stay would be at Khudda near Tanda.Yesterday, Rahul had heaped praises on the people of Punjab on his Facebook handle. Rahul wrote, Blessed by five rivers, Punjab is known for its fertile land. But even nature’s gifts must be nurtured and worked upon for them to yield benefits. It is the Tapasya of the people of Punjab that has turned this land of great opportunity into a land of prosperity, over time.“Their tapasya has also made the people of Punjab fearless, generous, warm and compassionate. As I walk through this remarkable state, every heart I connect with has a common story to tell, a story of true love for India.”Out of his eighth days yatra in Punjab including one day halt on the Lohari festival on January 13, Rahul is spending four days in Doaba itself which is more than half.Doaba, which has 1/5 representation in the state assembly, had given 10 out of 18 seats that Congress had won in Punjab during the 2022 assembly elections. Also, Doaba has the highest percentage of the Dalit population in the country.Rahul Gandhi had started the Punjab leg of his Bharat Yatra from the historical Fatehgarh Sahib on January 11 and entered Ludhiana from there and remained there till January 12.Rahul resumed it on January 14 from Ludhiana- Jalandhar border and entered the Doaba region from Phillaur. But on the same day, he had to suspend it just two hours after its resumption because of the sudden demise of sitting Lok Sabha MP from Jalandhar Santokh Singh Chaudhary, who died while walking in the yatra.After the cremation of Chaudhry which was attended by Rahul, the Yatra resumed at 3:30 pm again on Sunday from Jalandhar’s Lyallpur Khalsa college and it went peacefully till its halt at 6:30 pm in Adampur.
