Rahul Gandhi slams CBSE for controversial passage in class 10 exam

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday hit out at the CBSE over a comprehension passage in the class 10 English paper, terming it as "disgusting" and a "ploy" of the RSS-BJP to crush the morale and future of the youth.

The comprehension passage in the CBSE class 10 English question paper has sparked a controversy for allegedly promoting "gender stereotyping" and supporting "regressive notions" prompting the board to refer the matter to subject expert.

In a tweet, Gandhi 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.

Congress chief Sonia Gandhi also raised the issue in the Lok Sabha.

In the class 10 exam conducted on Saturday, the 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.

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.