Rajasthan Class 12 Board exam paper has 6 questions on Cong history, BJP cries foul

RBSE Public Relations Officer Rajendra Gupta said that the question paper was made as per the NCERT syllabus and a panel of subject matter experts had prepared it.

The paper also included questions about the Bahujan Samaj Party, notable personalities, world affairs, the 2004 Lok Sabha election and the 1989 National Front government. (FIle)

A political row has erupted in Rajasthan after it came to light that the Class 12 Political Science examination of the Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education (RBSE) held on Thursday had six questions on the Congress, leading the opposition BJP to accuse the Ashok Gehlot-led government in the state of “politicising education”.

These were some of the questions asked: ‘Discuss in brief the Congress as a Social and Ideological Alliance.’ ‘Which party dominated the first three general elections in India?’ ‘How many seats did the Congress win in the 1984 Lok Sabha Election?’ ‘Who gave the slogan ‘Garibi Hatao’?’ ‘The General Election of 1971 proved to be an election for restoration of Congress. Explain the statement.’ ‘Under what circumstances did the Congress contest the 1967 General Election and what mandate did it get? Explain’.

The paper also included questions about the Bahujan Samaj Party, notable personalities, world affairs, the 2004 Lok Sabha election and the 1989 National Front government.

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“The ruling Congress party in Rajasthan has ensured the politicisation of education. It appears from the Political Science question paper of Class 12 that the Congress party will make the student who knows much about the Congress, the party’s permanent national president. Since now the party has a working president, it seems the permanent president will be made based on answers in this paper,” BJP MLA and chief spokesperson Ramlal Sharma said on Friday, taking a jibe at the Congress.

The BJP also demanded that those who were given the responsibility of setting the question paper be suspended.

RBSE Public Relations Officer Rajendra Gupta said that the question paper was made as per the NCERT syllabus and a panel of subject matter experts had prepared it. While the RBSE conducted the examination, it has no say over the structure of the question papers, which is decided by a panel of experts, Gupta said.

The Congress hit back, terming the contents of the question paper as ‘historical facts’.

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“The accusations of the BJP are baseless. The history of the freedom movement and the Congress is the same and there is no contribution of the BJP in the freedom struggle. Events such as the 1971 war are historical facts, where India defeated Pakistan and the country was divided. The BJP government removed the war memorial for the 1971 war to hide its own failures,” said Congress spokesperson Swarnim Chaturvedi.

“There is no intention of politicisation in the question paper. It is a fact that the Congress was in power for more time and that is why there are more achievements,” he added.

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