'Parents in unclean occupation?' Haryana asks students, Cong slams the move

The Congress on Wednesday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Haryana after admission forms released by schools in the state include unrelated personal questions.

One question that particularly raised eyebrows was that whether the applicant's parents were engaged in "unclean occupation."

Speaking to ANI, Congress Spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said, "Why do they want to know the bank account number and income tax number of the children's parents? Why do they want to know the Aadhaar number of the children and their parents? Why are they doing racial and religious profiling? And one question even asks if the parents are involved in an 'unclean vocation/profession'."

Surjewala called on Haryana Chief Minister ML Khattar to clarify the meaning of unclean profession.

The 100-question form, mandated by the Haryana's education department, was termed as another attempt of the BJP government at privacy breach, by the Congress leader.

"To collect information of the ordinary citizen on a daily basis, first through the NaMo and now student admission forms is reprehensible and shows as to how privacy of an ordinary citizen is breached daily," he said, and added that CM Khattar should withdraw the forms.

Surjewala also demanded that the BJP government in the state and Centre "tender an apology for this absurdity."

Along with various account number details, the admission form also seeks the religion and caste of the applicant.