School weekly off row: Allies JD-U, BJP in face-off again

More than 500 government schools in Bihar’s Seemanchal region, which has a significant Muslim population, have been observing Friday as their weekly holiday instead of Sunday for years, without any government directive to this effect.

The row over hundreds of government schools in Bihar observing weekly offs on Friday instead of Sunday has taken a political hue and become the latest point of confrontation between two key constituents of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the state — BJP and the JD (U).

JD(U)’s parliamentary board president Upendra Kushwaha . (PTI)

Though Bihar’s education minister Vijay Kumar Chowdhary, who is from chief minister Nitish Kumar’s party JD(U), has asked district education officers to submit a detailed list of schools which are closing on Fridays instead of Sundays, the party’s parliamentary board president Upendra Kushwaha alleged some people are unnecessarily spoiling the cordial atmosphere in the state.

More than 500 government schools in Bihar’s Seemanchal region, which has a significant Muslim population, have been observing Friday as their weekly holiday instead of Sunday for years, without any government directive to this effect.

“Holiday in Urdu schools- Really important issue or trying to create unnecessary controversy...! Pratipada and Ashtami of every month are also holidays in Sanskrit colleges. If you do not know, then increase your knowledge by observing this calendar of Sanskrit University, please,” Kushwaha said in a tweet in Hindi.

He has also posted a calendar of Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya along with his tweet.

The JD(U) leader’s tweet was in response to BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP Rakesh Sinha, who had said government holidays should not be on the basis of religion.

Several BJP leaders, including Bihar’s environment minister Neeraj Kumar Babloo, had termed the decision to close schools on Friday communal. “This is not correct. If there is a holiday on Sunday in the whole country, then it should be on Sunday. Now in the name of religion... sometimes in the name of Sanatan Dharma, give us a holiday on Tuesday, on Thursday we do worship, give us a holiday... This is not correct,” he had said.

Bihar BJP spokesperson Nikhil Anand said, “It is a tragedy that the so-called advocates of secularism end up resorting to religious appeasement for political survival.”

JD(U), however, found support from former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi’s party HAM-S, which said there should not be any politics on the children’s education. “Government’s agenda in Bihar under Nitish Kumar is to educate children and not to do politics. If the students are not coming on Friday, schools are being opened on Sunday. Why are questions not being raised on similar system in Jammu and Kashmir,” asked HAM-S spokesperson Danish Rizwan.