E-Paper
On Karnataka minister remark on Gita in school syllabus, Congress leader's reply
On Friday, the state's education minister had told ANI: “Bhagavad Gita is not only for the Hindus, it is for all."
Karnataka Congress leader K Rahman Khan on Saturday accused the BJP of having "vested interest" after the Bhupendrabhai Patel-led Gujarat government said that Bhagavad Gita will be a part of the school syllabus for classes 6 to 12 in the state from the academic year 2022-23. Karnataka education minister BC Nagesh had backed the move, saying that the southern state would take a similar step "if experts approve". Responding to the comment, the Congress leader was quoted as saying by news agency ANI: "Every religious book teaches 'Dharma', you can't say it's only Gita that teaches 'Dharma' and Indian culture. All religious books should be taught to students. BJP has vested interest. New education policy is a cover to bring Hindutva policy in syllabus, nothing else".
"Karnataka's education minister has spoken on the lines of Gujarat that they're going to introduce Bhagavad Gita in syllabus. Nothing wrong if they prescribe a religious book but India is a country of diversity with several religions," he added.
On Friday, the state's education minister had told ANI: “Bhagavad Gita is not only for the Hindus, it is for all. If experts say, it will definitely be introduced. However, it will not be done for this year, but from next year."
This was after Gujarat education minister Jitu Vaghani - earlier this week - said that the aim was to introduce the values and principles enshrined in the Bhagavad Gita in school curriculum.
The decision also drew criticism from Delhi deputy Manish Sisodia who has been praised in the past for his educational policies. "Definitely it is a great step but people who are introducing it need to practice the values of Gita first. Their deeds are like Raavan and they talk about Gita,” Sisodia said on Saturday.
In Karnataka, the decision to restrict wearing hijab (headscarf) in classrooms by the state government in February had triggered huge controversy. The row has now reached the Supreme Court after the high court ruled that wearing of hijabs was "not an essential practice in Islam".
While Gujarat is set to vote for its next government later this year, Karnataka will vote next year. In both the states, the BJP is confident of returning to power.
(With inputs from ANI)
