Group demands resignation of minister in Odisha due to mistakes in textbooks.

In the city of Bhubaneswar, there was a lot of commotion over the recent resignation of Union Cabinet member Dharmendra Pradhan due to the NEET paper leak. This led to the Opposition parties in Odisha demanding the removal of state minister Nityananda Gond for his alleged mistakes in the school textbooks for classes 1 to 8. The president of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee, Bhakta Charan Das, even threatened to organize a statewide bandh if Gond did not resign for the grave errors in the textbooks.

He firmly stated that their party had given an ultimatum to the Mohan Charan Majhi government to either accept Gond's resignation or dismiss him from his post. In fact, Congress activists even planned to protest outside Gond's residence if he did not step down. Das also pointed out the recent resignation of Pradhan, stating that if he could step down for the sake of moral values, then Gond should do the same.

He believed that political accountability should be enforced at both the national and state level. On the other hand, BJD MLA Pradeep Disari urged the chief minister to take action against Gond for the wrong information provided in the textbooks, which has affected the education of the students. BJD's youth and students' wings also organized rallies in 16 districts, demanding Gond's removal from his post.

BJD students' wing president, Ipsita Sahoo, expressed her disappointment with the minister for blaming the officials instead of taking responsibility for the mistakes. Meanwhile, BJP leader Biranchi Narayan Tripathy accused both Congress and BJD of lacking morality and using it as a mere word. The chief minister, in response to these demands and allegations, ordered an investigation into the matter by the Crime Branch of the Odisha Police.

As a result, one former director of the State Council of Educational Research and Training has been arrested, three assistant directors have been suspended, and six other officers are undergoing disciplinary proceedings. In a press conference, the chief minister assured that strict action would be taken against those responsible for the errors in the textbooks, as it has greatly affected the students' studies. As the leading English daily in Odisha, Orissa POST reported on these events and the ongoing demand for Gond's resignation.