After the Director of Public Instruction (DPI) in Kerala faced severe backlash for forwarding a circular by the Central government to schools, asking them to celebrate RSS ideologue Deen Dayal Upadhyaya's birth centenary, the CPI (M)-led LDF government has said that they will "look into the matter".
According to a report in The Indian Express, Kerala's Education Minister C Raveendranath said the directive was sent by the Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD).
"The department had got a directive from the MHRD… We will look into why the directive has gone to schools from DPI," he was quoted as saying.
Amid criticism by the opposition and student unions, the Kerala government was left in a tizzy on Wednesday and could only confirm that the move was "not planned."
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Upadhyaya's birth centenary, which was on September 25, was not observed by any school in the state. "This shows the government had not given consent to celebrate the day," Raveendranath said to the newspaper.
The Congress, however, rubbished government's attempt to save its face and said the move has only exposed the CPI(M)'s "double-standard" by "crawling before the Sangh Parivar".
According to reports, the Kerala government on Tuesday had issued a circular to the government school principals directing them to celebrate the birth centenary of Upadhyaya.
The circular listed various programmes as part of the birth centenary celebrations at upper primary and secondary levels. It suggested fancy dress, poem recitation, singing patriotic songs and storytelling for upper primary students.
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The circular also evoked a series of criticism against the government and a state-wide protest by the Kerala Students' Union.
