2 weeks ago
14,000 Sign Petition Over Priyanka's 'Gau Mutra Expert' Remark
In India, there is a big building where leaders talk about rules, called Parliament.
One leader, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, said something unkind about a very smart teacher, V Kamakoti.
He is the director of a famous technology school called IIT Madras.
She called him a 'gau mutra expert,' which is a rude way of talking about cow urine.
Many scientists and teachers were upset by this.
More than 14,000 of them signed an online petition.
The petition asks the person in charge of Parliament meetings, Om Birla, to step in.
They want Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to take back her words and say she is sorry.
The petition is not about supporting one political party over another.
It is about respecting smart people who work for the country, even when people disagree with them.
More than 14,000 people from the academic and scientific community signed a petition against Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's 'gau mutra expert' remark.
The remark targeted IIT Madras Director V Kamakoti during Lok Sabha proceedings on examination reforms and the National Testing Agency overhaul.
Launched on Change.org on August 1, the petition asks Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to intervene.
Petitioners urge Vadra to withdraw the expression and express regret for its 'personal and derogatory nature.'
Kamakoti serves on the exam reform task force headed by Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani.
- Who
- Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Congress MP who made the remark; V Kamakoti, IIT Madras Director; Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla; and more than 14,000 petitioners.
- What
- A Change.org petition seeking withdrawal of the 'gau mutra expert' remark and Lok Sabha Speaker intervention over the remark's personal and derogatory nature.
- Where
- India, during Lok Sabha parliamentary proceedings; petition support spans India and over 38 countries.
- When
- Petition launched on August 1; reported on August 13 by PTI.
- Why
- Petitioners argue the remark undermined the dignity of an eminent scientist and the institution he leads, and was neither legitimate political criticism nor reasoned debate.
Academic petitioners
Proponents of political scrutiny
Was the 'gau mutra expert' remark personal ridicule or legitimate criticism?
Academic petitioners
The petitioners call the remark personal, derogatory and disparaging — neither legitimate political criticism nor reasoned debate — and say it undermines an eminent scientist and his institution.
Proponents of political scrutiny
The remark came while questioning the composition of the government's examination reform panel, and the petitioners themselves say they do not seek to curtail democratic debate or criticism of public policy.
Key facts
- Signatories
- More than 14,000
- Petition platform
- Change.org
- Launch date
- August 1
- Addressed to
- Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla
- Remark made by
- Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra
- Remark target
- IIT Madras Director V Kamakoti
- Context
- Lok Sabha debate on examination reforms and National Testing Agency overhaul
- Support base
- Academic and scientific community in India and overseas Indian scientists in over 38 countries
Sources
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