Opposition parties in Odisha escalated their political offensive on Sunday, 27 July, demanding the resignation of state School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond over large-scale errors found in newly published school textbooks for Classes 1 to 8. The pressure intensified following the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan at the Centre, which opposition leaders cited as a benchmark for ministerial accountability.

Congress Issues Seven-Day Ultimatum

Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) President Bhakta Charan Das, speaking to reporters, drew a direct parallel between the two cases. 'If Dharmendra Pradhan, the Union Education Minister, can resign over a question paper leak, then why shouldn't the Education Minister here resign after committing a much bigger mistake?' Das said. He warned that if the state government fails to act within seven days, Congress will call for an Odisha Bandh.

BJD Reiterates Demand Over Textbook Errors

Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MLA Pradip Kumar Dishari also pressed the ruling government, reiterating his party's demand for Gond's removal. The BJD pointed to what it described as widespread publication errors across the newly released textbooks — a lapse it argued amounted to a serious failure of the education ministry's oversight.

BJP Accuses Opposition of Political Opportunism

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) pushed back sharply. State BJP General Secretary Biranchi Narayan Tripathy accused both the Congress and the BJD of exploiting the textbook controversy for political gain. He alleged that Congress, having been rejected by voters, was attempting to revive its fortunes by leveraging student concerns.

Tripathy questioned the Congress' moral standing, asking how many of its own leaders had resigned over repeated question paper leak incidents during the party's tenure in Odisha between 1995 and 2000. He also pointed to the Congress-led UPA government's decade in power at the Centre from 2004 to 2014, alleging that corruption and irregularities — including in education — went unaddressed without any leader accepting moral responsibility.

Notably, Tripathy also questioned why Congress leaders remained silent over recent question paper leak incidents in Congress-governed Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh. He turned his fire on the BJD as well, asking how many of its leaders had resigned on moral grounds despite several corruption allegations during its own long tenure in Odisha.

The Broader Context

The textbook row comes at a politically sensitive moment in Odisha, where the BJP is in power after ending the BJD's two-decade dominance. Both the Congress and BJD — now in opposition — have found common cause in targeting the ruling party on the education issue. This is not the first time textbook quality has become a flashpoint in Indian state politics; similar controversies have erupted in several states in recent years. The opposition's seven-day deadline sets up a potential confrontation that could disrupt normal life if the government does not respond.

With the Odisha Bandh threat now on the table and the BJP showing no signs of conceding ground, the political temperature in the state is set to rise further in the days ahead.