The opposition Congress today created a ruckus in the Madhya Pradesh assembly alleging derogatory references to the Gond tribes in an MA-level geography text book and forcing repeated adjournments of the House.
Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Leader of Opposition Ajay Singh said a chapter in the book 'Bharat Ka Bhoogol,' wrongly described Gonds as "cow killers" and "beef eaters."
Dubbing the book as "derogatory" to the tribe, he said "The book (which is part of MA course) is providing misleading information about the Gonds."
Creating commotion in the House, the Congress members demanded a statement from the government, prompting Panchayat and Rural Development Minister Gopal Bhargava Kailash Vijayvargiya to object to the demand.
Vijayvargiya said the House functions as per the prescribed rules and the Opposition should have given a notice before raising the matter.
"The issue can be discussed, if it's presented in a proper way and in accordance with the rules," he said.
The Congress legislators, however, trooped into the Well of the House, forcing the speaker to adjourn the proceedings for 10 minutes.
Soon after the House reassembled, the Congress members, who had stayed put in the Well during adjournment, began shouting slogans again, forcing the second adjournment for 10 minutes.
After the proceedings resumed, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Narottam Mishra told the House that the government was ready to make a statement over the issue, but the Congress members did not relent and continued with sloganeering.
Singh, supported by other Congress MLAs, demanded an apology on the issue from Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who was not present in the House.
Amid the din, Speaker Sitasharan Sharma rushed through the listed business and adjourned the House for the day.
Talking to the reporters later outside the House, Singh said, "This is a serious matter and the CM should apologise. An inquiry should be conducted and the book should be withdrawn immediately."
He also demanded action against the writer, publisher and officials who approved the book.
Education Minister Vijay Shah said the government has already ordered an inquiry into the matter.
"I belong to the Gond community. This is a serious issue and the government has already ordered an inquiry. But the Opposition just wanted to create a ruckus over it. They should have raised the matter as per the rules of the House," he said.
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