Unhappy with NCERT row, PM wants accountability fixed

New Delhi: Accountability should be fixed, was the message from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, government sources said, amid an escalating row over the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) Class 8 textbook chapter on "corruption" in the judiciary. "Kaun dekh raha hai ye sab (Who is looking after all this)," a government source said quoting the Prime Minister, who is in Israel.

Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan also expressed his regret over the inclusion of the controversial chapter. "We hold the judiciary in the highest regard... There was absolutely no intention on the part of the government to disrespect the judiciary. We are taking this matter very seriously...

We will fully comply with the judiciary's decision. I am deeply saddened by what happened and express my regret," Pradhan told reporters. Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court objected to references to "corruption in the judiciary" in the NCERT book and issued a show-cause notice to the Secretary of School Education in the Ministry of Education and the Director of NCERT.