Bengaluru, March 28: A faculty member of Mount Carmel English High School in Bengaluru was sacked after its question paper for class 8 students asked if a farmer's friend was an earthworm or Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy or BJP leader B.S. Yeddyurappa, an official said on Thursday. "The faculty member responsible for setting the question paper was dismissed from the post," Raghavendra, the principal of the school in the city's southwestern suburbs, told the media here.

The question, which was asked in the annual examination paper for Kannada language for 8th standard students, soon went viral on social media platforms for its political tone. It was included in the examination without the knowledge of the administration, the principal added. Income Tax Officials Raid Karnataka Minister's Residence, HD Kumaraswamy Calls It PM Narendra Modi's 'Real Surgical Strike'.

In the southern state, BJP state unit President Yeddyurappa calls himself a "raitha bandhu" (farmers' friend), while Kumaraswamy has often referred to himself as the farmers' leader, as a means of wooing the state's farming community.

Kumaraswamy's party, Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S), also depicts a female farmer on its green flag (symbolic of fields and the farming community). The question in the examination, however, did not intend to promote any political party or ideology, the school administration asserted.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 29, 2019 12:10 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).