Sonia Gandhi Sparks Controversy Over Her 3 C's Remark on National Education Policy, BJP Retorts

New Delhi: Sonia Gandhi , former Congress president, on Monday sparked controversy over her remarks on the National Education Policy (NEP), accusing the Centre of "using it as a tool for centralisation of power, commercialisation, and communalisation" in education.

The former congress president in an opinion piece published wrote, "The Union Government’s track record over the last decade has convincingly demonstrated that in education, it is concerned only with the successful implementation of three core agenda items — the centralisation of power with the Union Government; the commercialisation and outsourcing of investments in education to the private sector, and the communalisation of textbooks, curriculum, and institutions."

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Sonia's remark comes amid escalating tensions between the Tamil Nadu government and the Centre over the alleged attempts to impose Hindi through the National Education Policy (NEP).

In her opinion article, the former Congress president refrained from directly addressing the issue but criticized the government for undermining the federal structure of education by excluding state governments from significant policy discussions.

"Unchecked centralisation has been a defining characteristic of this government’s functioning for the last 11 years, but its most damaging impact has been in the field of education. The Central Advisory Board of Education, which includes Union and state Education Ministers, has not been convened since September 2019," she stated.

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"Despite introducing a policy that fundamentally reshapes education, the Union Government has not sought input from state governments even once on its implementation," she added.

BJP Responds to Sonia Gandhi

Speaking on Sonia Gandhi's remark, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis responded sharply, saying, "I think this (NEP) is Indianisation of the education system of India... If the Education Policy that Macaulay brought to enslave our country, if that system is replaced and Indianisation is done, I think no one should have any problem with that.  Any patriot will support it. I think Sonia Gandhi should know more about it and support the Indianisation of the Indian education system."