Speaking to ANI, Ramanand said it was premature to assess the committee's work before the study material and textbooks were available for review.

"Whenever we want to understand or assess something, the discussion should be based on the content created by the committee Members. There should be a discussion about the content of the books--whether the content is good, what its quality and whether it is suitable for students to read. These are the issues that should be discussed," he said.

He said the focus should be on whether the textbooks help students understand India's political democracy and diversity, rather than on the organisations or institutions with which committee members may have been associated.

"Ideally, students and political leaders are raising their voices that the committee members should have been given suggestions to create books that help students to understand political democracy and the diversity of the country, rather than focusing on the backgrounds of committee members. Like what they have done or which organisations they have been associated with. The discussion should be about the issue itself," he added.

Ramanand said it was not unusual for members of committees to have political, social or organisational associations and noted that members of earlier committees had also subsequently become active in public life.

He said the textbooks should be assessed once they are available, particularly from the perspective of what students would learn from them and whether they adequately explain India's cultural and political diversity.

"I believe we should wait until the study material is available and the books are ready. Only then should the review be from the students' perspective. What will students learn from them? Do these books adequately explain India's cultural and political diversity or not? These are the questions that need to be examined," he told ANI.

He further said those criticising the committee members' backgrounds did not appear to have a constructive objective and stressed that the textbooks should serve all students.

"In fact, by turning this into a political controversy, we are harming education. Those engaging in such activities are ultimately causing harm to society and to the education system," he added.

Opposition parties and student organisations have criticised the proposed inclusion of people with links to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in the process of writing political science textbooks for Classes 11 and 12.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh criticised the government's move, saying that NCERT now stood for "Nagpur Coterie for Educational Re-writing and Troublemaking"