Congress leader Rahul Gandhi reacted to the viral video from Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh where a Muslim boy was being slapped by his classmates on the instruction of their teacher. He said a holy place like a school is being turned into a "marketplace of hatred".
Gandhi wrote on X, previously known as Twitter, "Sowing the poison of discrimination in the minds of innocent children, turning a holy place like a school into a market place of hatred – there is nothing worse a teacher can do for the country."
"This is the same kerosene spread by the BJP which has set every corner of India on fire. Children are the future of India - do not hate them, we all have to together teach love," he added.
Other opposition leaders also reacted to the incident:
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also expressed her dismay over the viral video, saying "what kind of classroom and society do we want to give to our future generations".
"Where there is talk of technology to go to the moon or things that build a boundary wall of hatred. The choice is clear. Hate is the biggest enemy of progress," she said on X. "We have to unite and speak against this hatred - for our country, for progress, for the coming generations," she added.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge slammed the BJP for its "divisive thinking" and said "such incidents tarnish our global image."
Samajwadi Party alleged that it was the "politics of hate" of BJP and RSS which had brought the country to such a pass where a teacher could ask her students to slap a boy from a minority community over his religion.
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav too in a post demanded the teacher be sacked immediately, and called her a "blot on teacher society."
BJP spokesperson Harishchandra Srivastava termed Yadav's post on X a political agenda. "The tweet made by Akhilesh Yadav regarding the Muzaffarnagar school incident is superficial politics and a disgusting political agenda to create disharmony in the society. "We all in our student life have been punished by the teacher in school for not remembering tables, not correcting maths questions or not having good writing, and this is a natural process of improving discipline and talent in students," he said.
Rashtriya Lok Dal president Jayant Chaudhary spoke to Irshad, the father of the victim, and assured him of justice.
"It is appalling that such hateful incidents are happening in schools," says RJD leader Mrityunjay Tiwari on the Muzaffarnagar school incident.
"This is the most unfortunate and appalling incident which should be condemned. On behalf of Trinamool Congress (TMC), we strongly condemn this incident and call for immediate action against that teacher," says TMC leader Sukhendu Sekhar Ray.
"Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) strongly condemns this incident, and we urge the Uttar Pradesh administration to take strict against that teacher," says NCP leader Mahesh Bharet Tapase
Leaders of different political and non-political organisations including BKU president Naresh Tikait, Uttar Pradesh Imam organisation president Mufti Zulfikar Ali, the vice president of UP Jamiat-e-ulema Hind Maulana Nazer Muhammad and a Congress fact-finding committee led by district Congress president Subodh Sharma visited the family of the boy at Khubbapur on Saturday.
How did BJP leaders react?
Pilibhit BJP MP Varun Gandhi in a post on X said the incident was shameful.
"The feeling of hatred towards a child in the temple of knowledge has made the whole country hang its head in shame. A teacher is a gardener who not only builds a personality but also a nation by putting fertiliser in the form of knowledge in the primary rites. "So the expectations from a teacher are high beyond dirty politics. It is a question of the future of the country," he said.
What happened in Muzaffarnagar?
A teacher at the Neha Public School in Khubbapur village, identified as Trapti Tyagi was booked a day after a video showed that she was asking her students to slap the Class 2 Muslim boy while making communal remarks.
Police booked Tyagi under IPC sections 323 and 504, both non-cognizable and bailable offences after a complaint was filed by the boy's family. For such offences, a warrant is required and immediate arrest is not necessary.
In her defence, Tyagi has said that the video has been tampered with in order to stoke tensions. She claimed the video was shot by an uncle of the boy. She said though it was wrong on her part to get a student slapped by his classmates, she was forced to do it as she is handicapped and was not able to stand up and reach the student who had not done his assignment.
Circle Officer Ravi Shankar had on Friday said that prima facie it has emerged that the student was beaten up for not completing the school work and there was nothing objectionable in it.
In a letter, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights asked the District Magistrate of Muzaffarnagar to give relevant details about the school where the incident happened.
NCPCR chairperson Priyank Kanoongo also urged people on X not to reveal the identity of the victim boy by sharing the video which showed him being slapped by his classmates.
