‘Hindus of Bihar are watching’: Union minister Nityanand Rai slams Nitish govt's new holiday calendar

The Bihar education department has reportedly done away with holidays for Hartalika Teej and Jitiya, and increased holidays for Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.

Published on: Nov 28, 2023, 18:12:38 IST

By HT News Desk

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Union minister of state for home affairs Nityanand Rai on Tuesday lashed out at the Nitish Kumar government after it reportedly slashed number of holidays for several Hindu festivals.

The Bihar education department has come under fire over the holiday calendar issued for 2024. As per HT's sister publication Live Hindustan, the holiday calendar has witnessed the number of summer vacation days increased from 20 to 30.

The holidays for Hartalika Teej and Jitiya have been done away with, the education department has reportedly increased the holidays for Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha (Bakrid) to three days each, LH reported.

Accusing the Nitish Kumar government of appeasement politics, Rai told ANI," The government of Bihar led by Nitish Kumar ji and Tejashwi Yadav is doing appeasement politics in Bihar. The festival holidays of Hindus have been reduced and the holidays of Muslim festivals have been increased. This is appeasement."

"Sabotaging Hindus' sentiments like this is not good. Hindus of Bihar are watching and they are seeing this biasedness, when the time comes, they will give a befitting reply. This decision must be changed and BJP won't sit quietly on this matter," the minister added.

Demanding the withdrawal of the holiday calendar, the minister said that the BJP will not keep quiet on this. “This type of appeasement behaviour is not going to work in Bihar. Appeasement is harmful to the development of the country so the Nitish government should take back its decision," he added.

Earlier, Union minister Ashwini Choubey had too hit out at the Nitish government over the holiday calendar. “Once again the anti-Hindu face of the uncle-nephew government came to the fore. On one hand, holidays for Muslim festivals are being extended in schools, while holidays for Hindu festivals are being abolished,” the minister had posted on X.

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HT News Desk
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