Chandrashekhar Bawankule on NCERT row says negative content needs to be removed from history textbooks

Amid a row over the removal of certain references in National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT's) new class 12 textbooks, BJP's Maharashtra chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule said some people had deliberately written negative content in history textbooks and there was a need to drop it.

He also said that although he was against some negative descriptions in textbooks, facts need not be removed from them. Gandhiji's death had magical effect on communal situation in the country, Gandhi's pursuit of Hindu-Muslim unity provoked Hindu extremists and Organisations like RSS were banned for some time are among the portions missing from the class 12 political science textbook for the new academic session.

A political row has erupted over it with the Congress accusing the government of distorting history and whitewashing with a vengeance. The NCERT, however, claimed that no curriculum trimming has taken place this year and the syllabus was rationalised in June last year.

Our country is marching ahead, progressing and going to be the greatest country in the world. There is no need for negative content, he said.