Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Monday condemned the inclusion of a 'blatantly misogynist' passage in a Central Board of Secondary Education Class 10 question paper and demanded an apology from the Modi government.
Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Gandhi demanded immediate withdrawal of the objectionable question and a review into the 'gravest lapse'.
In the Class 10 exam conducted on Saturday, the English question paper carried a comprehension passage with 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.
Seeking clarification on the issue raised by Gandhi, members of the Congress, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Indian Union Muslim League, the Nationalist Congress Party and the National Conference walked out of the House.
Downright disgusting, says Rahul
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also hit out at the CBSE over the comprehension passage, terming it as 'disgusting' and a 'ploy' of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-Bharatiya Janata Party to crush the morale and future of the youth.
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,' Gandhi said.
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.
