Education Minister Sakina Itoo should resign or Omar sacks her, demands BJP
Jammu, 27 July 2026: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday stepped up its attack on the Omar Abdullah-led National Conference government, demanding the resignation of Jammu and Kashmir Education Minister Sakina Itoo over the alleged introduction of anti-India and pro-terrorist books into the curriculum of the School Education Department.
Addressing a press conference here, senior BJP leaders held the Education Minister directly accountable for what they described as a grave lapse in the functioning of the department. The party alleged that the inclusion of the controversial books reflected a complete failure of oversight and accused the government of attempting to shield senior officials by making lower-ranking employees “scapegoats.”
The BJP questioned how books allegedly containing objectionable and anti-national content had found their way into the curriculum without undergoing proper scrutiny and approval by the competent authorities. The party also claimed that the authors of the books remained untraceable, raising further concerns about the process through which the publications were selected and approved for use in educational institutions.
“The introduction of such highly controversial books, whose authors are still untraceable, is the direct responsibility of Education Minister Sakina Itoo. She cannot escape accountability for such a serious lapse,” the BJP leaders alleged.
Demanding immediate action, the party said Sakina Itoo should step down on moral grounds, failing which Chief Minister Omar Abdullah should remove her from the Council of Ministers.
“Education Minister Sakina Itoo should resign on moral grounds, or Chief Minister Omar Abdullah must sack her from his Council of Ministers. The government cannot evade responsibility for allowing such books to enter the education system,” the BJP leaders asserted.
Launching a fresh attack on the government, the BJP alleged that the suspension of a few officials of the School Education Department was merely an attempt to divert public attention while protecting those who had actually taken the decision to approve the books.
“The government is trying to sacrifice junior officials to save the real decision-makers. Action against lower-level employees alone cannot absolve the minister and senior officials of their responsibility,” the party leaders alleged.
The BJP also trained its guns on the ruling National Conference, claiming that the silence maintained by the party’s top leadership over the controversy reflected its tacit approval of the alleged introduction of the books.
“The continued silence of the National Conference leadership raises serious questions. It appears that the government has no objection to the inclusion of such books in the curriculum of schools and institutions of higher education,” the BJP leaders alleged.
Drawing a comparison with the controversy surrounding the alleged NEET question paper leak, the BJP cited the example of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, claiming that he had set a benchmark by offering to resign on moral grounds despite no direct allegations against him.
“Neither Dharmendra Pradhan’s name surfaced in the alleged NEET question paper leak nor was he directly linked to the incident. Yet, he set an example by taking moral responsibility in the national interest,” the BJP leaders claimed.
They argued that the same principle of accountability should apply in Jammu and Kashmir and asserted that Sakina Itoo must also accept moral responsibility for the alleged introduction of anti-India and pro-terrorist books into the School Education Department’s curriculum.
The BJP further demanded a comprehensive, impartial and time-bound investigation into the entire episode to identify those responsible for selecting, approving and introducing the books. The party maintained that accountability must be fixed at every level and that stringent action should be taken against all officials found responsible, irrespective of their rank or position.
The controversy over the alleged inclusion of anti-India and pro-terrorist content in educational material has triggered a major political row in Jammu and Kashmir. While the government has initiated action against certain officials of the School Education Department, the opposition BJP has maintained that suspending junior employees alone is insufficient and has demanded political accountability, insisting that responsibility must extend to the highest levels of the Education Department and the government.
