According to an Indian Express report, newly elected Chief Minister of Tripura, Biplab Kumar Deb is all set to introduce NCERT textbooks in the state. He accused the Left of spreading Marxist propaganda through the textbooks in state-run schools.
Speaking to Indian Express at the first Niti Aayog meet for the North East, Deb said, “When I say education, I mean quality education and not just numbers. The Communists only wanted the people of Tripura to study Mao (Zedong) and forget our Hindu kings. They removed Mahatma Gandhi from textbooks in government-run schools. I am going to implement NCERT syllabus in all these schools which will also have chapters on Tripura’s history.” He added, “Students were being taught Karl Marx and Hitler but nothing about Indian freedom fighters.”
Reports had emerged in 2016 that the Left government had removed Indian history altogether from its class IX history textbook. The textbook penned by Kalyan Choudhury feature the Russian and French revolutions, the rise of Hitler and the only national icon mentioned was Mahatma Gandhi and that too, only for his views on cricket. The BJP state unit President, Biplab Deb had said then, “The Left Front wants to paint everything red, even if it means destroying the education system. They are brainwashing students with Marx and communism. This is a recipe for disaster.”
Biplab Deb also said that he was “amazed” that Manik Sarkar’s table in the Chief Minister’s office had no National Flag. He mentioned that he got the Tricolour on the table for the first time.