Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee on Tuesday launched a statewide protest demanding the resignation of School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond, holding him responsible for “glaring errors” in government school textbooks.
Addressing the media at Congress Bhavan, AICC Odisha in-charge Lalji Desai said party leaders and workers will stage demonstrations across the state to press for the minister’s resignation and for urgent reforms in the education sector.
Calling the lapses in textbooks “unpardonable”, Desai said children should not be forced to bear the brunt of administrative failures. “Instead, the Congress will take to the streets to hold the government accountable,” he said.
Targeting the BJP government, Desai alleged that the party which came to power promising to protect ‘Odia Asmita’ was now damaging the state’s identity through repeated governance failures. He cited 1,678 errors identified in school textbooks as evidence.
“These are not routine mistakes,” Desai said, pointing to a photo of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly printed in place of the Odisha Assembly and an image of Hampi used instead of the Konark Temple as examples.
The Congress also raised broader concerns about the education system. Desai alleged that nearly 10,000 government schools have been shut down in the state and around 80,000 teaching posts remain vacant.
OPCC President Bhakta Charan Das warned that the agitation will be intensified if the minister does not resign within seven days. “If the demand is ignored, we will call for an ‘Odisha Bandh’,” Das said.
Drawing a parallel with national politics, Das questioned why a state education minister should not resign for such mistakes when Union ministers have stepped down for similar negligence in the past.
The Congress said the protests will focus on textbook corrections, filling of teacher vacancies, and preventing further closure of schools.
