Intro: CJP’s Odisha campaign backs student protests over textbook errors as pressure grows on the state government for accountability.
Bhubaneshwar
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has taken its School Thik Karo campaign to Odisha, with co-convenor Saurav Das joining the growing agitation over errors in state school textbooks.
Das reached Bhubaneswar and backed students protesting against inaccuracies in textbooks prepared for Classes I to VIII. He demanded the resignation of Odisha School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond, arguing that responsibility should be fixed for the lapses.
The controversy began after a review identified 1,678 errors across 55 newly introduced textbooks for the 2026-27 academic session. The mistakes included factual inaccuracies, spelling and grammatical errors, incorrect photographs and other contextual problems. Class VIII books accounted for 705 of the identified errors.
Among the reported mistakes were the identification of Sir Isaac Newton as a pilot, the use of a photograph of Karnataka’s Legislative Assembly as the Odisha Assembly, and the placement of Odisha’s Niyamgiri Hills in Jharkhand.
The Odisha government responded by ordering an inquiry and subsequently taking disciplinary action against officials involved in the textbook preparation process. Four officials were suspended, while disciplinary proceedings were initiated against six others, according to reports.
The government has also moved towards correcting the affected textbooks. Earlier, officials said students would use correction sheets while revised editions were being prepared and distributed.
The CJP’s intervention comes as the Nabnirman Yuva Chhatra Sangathan (NYCS) continues its agitation and has announced plans to gherao the Odisha Assembly.
The developments have kept the textbook controversy active, combining demands for corrections and accountability with student-led protests.