The President of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Leader of Opposition in the Odisha Assembly, Naveen Patnaik, has urged the resignation of Odisha School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond due to significant errors in new textbooks for students in Class I to VIII. Patnaik emphasized the need for Gond to step down, citing numerous mistakes in the state’s educational materials.
Following Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation related to the NEET paper leak, opposition parties in Odisha, including the BJD, have escalated calls for Minister Gond’s resignation over the textbook inaccuracies. The Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) President has also issued a warning, stating that if action is not taken within seven days, the Congress will call for an Odisha Bandh.
In response to the demands for Gond’s resignation, Odisha Mines, Commerce, and Transport Minister Bibhuti Bhusan Jena defended the Education Minister, dismissing the calls as baseless and politically driven. Jena criticized the Opposition’s routine tactic of seeking resignations and praised Pradhan for his swift actions in handling the examination paper leak issue.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has accused the BJD and Congress of engaging in political opportunism, amidst the escalating demands for Minister Gond’s resignation.
