The BJP-led Haryana government is courting controversy over seeking "absurd" details from school students, including one that seeks to know if their parents are engaged in any "unclean occupation".
The student admission form that has been circulated by the state education department also seeks details of parents' Aadhar numbers, caste and religion. The deadline for submitting the forms for admission is April 16.
The Congress has slammed Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and his government for what they infer as uncalled surveillance on parents and propagation of untouchability.
The 100-point questionnaire also asks students to state if they are "mentally challenged". Another question wants to know if the student is suffering from any "genetic disorder".
The question on whether parents are engaged in any "unclean occupation" is the one that is being seen as most ridiculous.
Haryana BJP spokesperson Raman Malik tried to defend the state government's move and the need for such information. He maintained that the question on "unclean jobs" was to know "if parents were in any job that is hazardous to health".
"Such details are to know if students require medical check-up or special attention," he said, maintaining that there was no harm to ask for details about the caste and religion of the students.
Requesting anonymity, a principal of a prominent CBSE school in Panchkula said that about two years ago the government had sought similar details from students.
Congress spokesperson and Haryana MLA Randeep Singh Surjewala tweeted that students had been labelled 'untouchables' and their parent's occupation has been described as 'unclean'.
"Government, taking a cue from NaMo App, Since when has Aadhar become mandatory for school admission? The form is really meant for "surveillance of parents" a height of insanity calling vocation of parents unclean is absurd," he said in a series of tweets on Wednesday.
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