Preamble to the Constitution not removed from NCERT textbooks: Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan
New Delhi (PTI): Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday said the Preamble to the Constitution is very well there in NCERT textbooks of Class VI as he refuted charges made in this regard by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
Earlier, Opposition Congress party raised in Rajya Sabha the issue of dropping Preamble from certain NCERT textbooks, saying this was an attempt to impose communal ideology on the country - a claim which Union Minister J P Nadda countered saying the government was committed to protecting constitution.
During Zero Hour, Leader of the Opposition and Congress President Kharge said Preamble, which is the soul and foundation of Indian Constitution, used to be published in NCERT textbooks.
Soon after Zero Hour, Pradhan said Kharge has made certain remarks regarding NCERT books of the education department.
"I want to humbly put the facts in the House," he said.
The minister informed the House that till now textbooks for classes up to 7th have been published.
"Leader of the Opposition was saying that earlier there used to be Preamble (in the textbooks). In the new textbooks of Class VI, there is Preamble. Not only Preamble, there is Fundamental Duties, Fundamental Rights, and National Anthem (in the books). These also represent core values of the Constitution and they are in the books. What he said was not a fact," Pradhan said.
In Zero Hour, Kharge said, every citizen especially the future generation needs to be educated about foundational principles and values of Indian democracy and Constitution as well as the sacrifices made by freedom fighters such as Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, B R Ambedkar, and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
He then went on to make a statement on shifting of statues of Gandhi and Ambedkar in the Parliament complex - which was objected to from the treasury benches, and Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said Kharge was deviating from the subject.
"RSS and BJP are trying to impose their communal ideology on people by tampering with curriculum. And the step taken by NCERT is not right," he said amid protests from the ruling side.
At this point, Dhankhar ordered that nothing will go on record and he would "look into what has to be deleted... last four minutes to be deleted."
"You are digressing from the issue," he told Kharge.
Kharge demanded that the government give a clarification on the issue, present facts before the House and withdraw the move to drop Preamble from NCERT textbooks.
"Undoubtedly all of us are committed to the constitution and any perception to the contrary will hurt all of us," Dhankhar said.
Leader of the House and BJP President J P Nadda said though he has not seen either NCERT textbook or the change but can with all authority state that there is no question of any needling of the Constitution.
"Word by word, letter by letter, this government under the dynamic leadership of (Prime Minister) Modi is committed (to the Constitution)," he said.
On Kharge quoting from Constituent Assembly debate, he said it was only under the Modi government that November 26 (when the debate took place) was declared Constitution Day.
He went on to attack Congress for imposing Emergency in 1975 and dismissing more than 90 elected governments in states in violation of the Constitution.
On RSS, he said the Congress government tried to ban the organisation twice and jailed 1.25 lakh people for two years but "RSS emerged stronger because it is a nationalist organisation and an organisation connected to the grassroots."
"Preamble has been protected and will be protected," he declared.
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Bangladesh Supreme Court acquits former prime minister Khaleda Zia
Dhaka, Jan 15: Bangladesh Supreme Court on Wednesday acquitted former prime minister and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia in a corruption case, overturning the High Court’s earlier 10-year prison sentence.
The verdict was delivered by a bench led by Chief Justice Dr Syed Refaat Ahmed after reviewing 79-year-old Zia’s appeal against the High Court’s ruling on Wednesday, the Dhaka Tribune reported.
The Supreme Court acquitted Zia, the party’s Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, and all other suspects in their appeal over the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case, the report added.
The Appellate Division noted that the case was motivated by revenge.
Zia was sentenced on February 8, 2018, by Dhaka’s Special Judge Court-5 to five years of imprisonment for alleged embezzlement of government funds in the name of the Zia Orphanage Trust.
The same verdict handed down 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for five other accused, including Zia's son Tarique and former chief secretary Kamal Uddin Siddiqui. Each of the accused was also fined Tk2.1 crore.
Among the accused, Tarique, Siddiqui, and Ziaur Rahman’s nephew Mominur Rahman have remained absconding.
Zia appealed the trial court’s verdict to the High Court, but the sentence was increased to 10 years by a High Court bench comprising Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman on October 30, 2018.
Zia subsequently filed a leave-to-appeal petition against this sentence.
Following years of delays due to legal procedural issues and a lack of initiative from lawyers, the Appellate Division accepted Zia’s leave-to-appeal on November 11, 2024.
The court also stayed the High Court’s 10-year sentence pending the final hearing of the appeal.
After concluding the hearing, the Appellate Division announced its decision to acquit Zia, officially clearing her of the charges in the case.
Zia is ailing and travelled to London earlier this month for medical treatment.
Zia served as the prime minister of Bangladesh from March 1991 to March 1996, and again from June 2001 to October 2006.
