Rajendra Pal Gautam has said will seek action against the Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board.
Delhi minister Rajendra Pal Gautam on Sunday demanded action against officials of the Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSSB) over a "racist and misogynist question" asked in an examination conducted for recruitment of primary teachers.
"The purported question was asked in the Hindi section of the examination held yesterday. It had four options pointing to a caste-based system of the Brahminical Society. It is a multiple choice question and the answers are highly racist and gender insensitive," the minister alleged
In a statement, the Delhi social welfare minister expressed "serious concern" on the issue and said that he will ask Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash to take appropriate action against the DSSSB.
"Setting a caste-based question which ostensibly hurts the sentiments of the community in addition to being highly disrespectful to women demonstrates the state of mind of those at the helm of the DSSSB," the statement read.
The minister said he will speak with the chief secretary on Monday to demand an interim investigation into the issue.
The DSSSB in a statement said the question with "casteist" undertones appeared due to an "inadvertent error".
"It is clarified that the procedure of paper setting is highly confidential and secretive in nature and the contents of the paper are not shared with the board officials. They are revealed for the very first time before the candidates only," the statement said.
It said that the appearance of any such question which "may have unintentionally hurt the sentiments of any section of society is deeply regretted".
The DSSSB said the question would not be evaluated during the evaluation process.
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