Karnataka Congress protests against revised textbooks, demands CM's resignation
Bengaluru, Jun 9: The Karnataka Congress on Thursday staged a protest here urging the state government to withdraw the controversial revised school textbooks, and demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, accusing his administration of distorting history and "saffronising" education as per RSS' directions.
Amid sloganeering by calling the state government "RSS' puppet", "anti people", "anti constitution", "corrupt", the protest was held in front of Mahatma Gandhi's statue at the premises of Vidhana Soudha, the seat of the state secretariat and legislature here.
They accused the government of insulting prominent religious, social and freedom movement figures like Basavanna, B R Ambedkar, Narayana Guru, Kuvempu, Bhagat Singh among others, and alleged that it was saffronising education and introducing 'Manuwaad' into it, also distorting history and spreading hatred among students.
The protest attended by several state Congress legislators and leaders, was led by state president D K Shivakumar, Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Siddaramaiah, Leader of the Opposition in the Council B K Hariprasad, among others.
Accusing the government of trying to distort the state's and country's culture and history by bringing in "Nagpur Education Policy" and with an "unfit person" as the head of textbook review committee, Shivakumar said, "You (the government) have made us bow down our heads in shame by insulting state and national icons."
The Congress will continue its agitation on the issue, he said, "Withdraw this revised textbook, bring back the old ones, throw the revised one into the dustbin...they (BJP) tried to revise books according to their whims and fancies. Basavaraj Bommai should resign first, Bommai and BJP government should go first."
Siddaramaiah said the textbooks have been revised as per the directions of RSS by distorting history, with an aim to saffronise education, and it has to be withdrawn.
Pointing out that the government under pressure from literary figures and intellectuals had disbanded the textbook review committee, he said the textbooks revised by the disbanded committee has to also be withdrawn and should not be taught to students as history has been distorted in it.
The state government had last week "disbanded" the textbook review committee headed by Rohith Chakratirtha, stating its designated work was completed, and had said that the government is open for further revision if there are any objectionable contents.
Amid raging controversy over the textbook issue, state Primary and Secondary Education Minister B C Nagesh on Tuesday had said the government has decided to place before the people the contents of the original textbooks and those revised by the erstwhile Congress and the present BJP regimes.
The controversy had erupted with some organisations raising objections over the alleged replacing of a chapter on Bhagat Singh with an essay on a speech by RSS founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in the revised Kannada textbook for Class 10.
Subsequently, there were allegations about the omission of a chapter on Narayana Guru and several other prominent figures, national and state icons and their literary works.
There are also allegations of erroneous content on 12th century social reformer Basavanna and certain factual errors in the textbooks, including accusations of disrespecting 'Raashtra Kavi' (national poet) Kuvempu and distortion of the state anthem penned by him.
ಕೆಪಿಸಿಸಿ ಅಧ್ಯಕ್ಷ @DKShivakumar, ವಿಧಾನ ಪರಿಷತ್ ವಿರೋಧ ಪಕ್ಷದ ನಾಯಕ @HariprasadBK2 ಸೇರಿದಂತೆ ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ ಪಕ್ಷದ ಹಿರಿಯ ಮುಖಂಡರು, ಹಾಲಿ, ಮಾಜಿ ಶಾಸಕರು, ಪದಾಧಿಕಾರಿಗಳು ಸೇರಿದಂತೆ ಹಲವರು ಭಾಗವಹಿಸಿದ್ದರು.
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) June 9, 2022
2/2 pic.twitter.com/vqqjlX5Qmy
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World leaders call on India, Pak to exercise restraint, hope hostilities 'end very quickly'
Operation Sindoor
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Washington/Moscow (PTI): World leaders, including UN chief Antonio Guterres and US President Donald Trump, on Wednesday called on India and Pakistan to exercise restraint and hoped that the hostilities would end "very quickly".
In retaliation against the Pahalgam terror attack, Indian armed forces early Wednesday carried out missile strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Pakistan, including Bhawalpur, a stronghold of the Jaish-e-Mohammad terror outfit.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for "maximum military restraint" from India and Pakistan, saying the world cannot afford a military confrontation between the two countries.
"The Secretary-General is very concerned about the Indian military operations across the Line of Control and the international border. He calls for maximum military restraint from both countries. The world cannot afford a military confrontation between India and Pakistan,” the secretary-general's spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said.
US President Donald Trump said he hopes that the hostilities will end "very quickly".
"It’s a shame, he said, adding, "We heard about it just as we were walking in the doors of the Oval (Office). I guess people knew something was going to happen based on a little bit of the past."
"They've been fighting for a long time. They've been fighting for many, many decades and centuries, actually, if you really think about it,” Trump said.
Asked if he has any message for the countries, he said, “No, I just hope it ends very quickly.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that he was closely monitoring the situation between India and Pakistan.
Russia also expressed deep concern at the escalation of military confrontation between India and Pakistan in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack.
“We are deeply concerned about the intensifying military confrontation between India and Pakistan after the terrorist attack near the city of Pahalgam,” Russia Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova was quoted as saying by state-run news agency TAS S.
“We call on the parties involved to exercise restraint in order to prevent further deterioration of the situation in the region.
"We hope that the differences between New Delhi and Islamabad will be resolved through peaceful, political and diplomatic means on a bilateral basis in accordance with the provisions of the Simla Agreement of 1972 and the Lahore Declaration of 1999,” the spokesperson said in a statement in the wake of 'Operation Sindoor'.
The United Arab Emirates, meanwhile, asked India and Pakistan “to exercise restraint, de-escalate tensions, and avoid further escalation that could threaten regional and international peace,” according to a statement from UAE Deputy Prime Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
"His Highness stressed the importance of heeding the voices calling for dialogue and mutual understanding to prevent military escalation, strengthen stability in South Asia, and avoid further regional tensions," the statement said.
"His Highness reaffirmed that diplomacy and dialogue remain the most effective means of peacefully resolving crises, and achieving the shared aspirations of nations for peace, stability, and prosperity."
"His Highness further emphasised that the United Arab Emirates will continue its efforts to support all initiatives aimed at achieving peaceful resolutions to regional and international conflicts and mitigating their humanitarian consequences," it said.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said the government is following the situation closely while reiterating its condemnation of the terrorist attack in Kashmir last month.
"We are strongly concerned that further retaliatory exchanges will escalate into a full-blown military conflict," the top government spokesman said at a press conference.
"We strongly urge India and Pakistan to exercise restraint and stabilise the situation through dialogue for the peace and stability of South Asia," Hayashi was quoted as saying by the Kyodo News.
