Congress President Sonia Gandhi and leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday hit out at the CBSE over a comprehension passage in class 10 English paper, with Rahul terming it as "disgusting" and a "ploy" of the RSS-BJP to crush the morale and future of the youth.
The comprehension passage sentences consisted of sentences like "emancipation of women destroyed the parent's authority over the children" and "it was only by accepting her husband's way that a mother could gain obedience over the younger ones", among others. It has sparked controversy for allegedly promoting "gender stereotyping" and supporting "regressive notions" prompting the board to refer the matter to the subject expert.
In a tweet, Rahul said, "Most CBSE papers so far were too difficult and the comprehension passage in the English paper was downright disgusting. Typical RSS-BJP ploys to crush the morale and future of the youth."
"Kids, do your best. Hard work pays. Bigotry doesn't," Rahul said.
Sonia Gandhi raised the issue during Zero Hour, demanding immediate withdrawal of the objectionable question and a review into the "gravest lapse".
Seeking clarification on the issue raised by Sonia, members of the Congress, DMK, IUML, NCP and National Conference walked out of the House.
Various excerpts from the passage have gone viral on social media with users calling out the board for supporting "misogynistic" and "regressive opinions" and hashtag "CBSE insults women" trending on the microblogging site Twitter.
