RAJ KUMAR
Ranchi, July 11: Back to back two interventions by Jharkhand Education Minister Jagarnath Mahto suggests that he is not going to allow violation of rules in the government-run schools.
The first interference was noticed on July 5 when the minister asked the district administration in Garhwa to ensure no interference of external power in the state run government school when it came to his knowledge that prayer and style of prayer in a government school in a Muslim dominated village in the district was changed when the Muslim students outnumbered students from other communities.
The second interference was noticed on Sunday when the minister found some government schools in Muslim dominated areas of Jamtara district declared weekly holiday on Friday instead of Sunday in violation of government rules. Ironically, this has been in practice before the creation of Jharkhand.
Apart from this, it also came to his knowledge that in some of the schools ‘Urdu’ has been prefixed before official names of schools in Muslim dominated areas.
Though Jamtara MLA Irfan Ansari sees a BJP agenda behind all this development, JMM insiders said it has been realized by the party that it will not be easier for any party in the state to exist if it does not handle communal issues with care.
“The JMM could have allowed continuing the weekly holiday on Friday and would have passed the buck on the previous BJP government which remained in power for most of the time. But the party did now allow that. The State education minister gave a clear cut message against any communalization attempt of government schools. By this act it has not only exposed the state BJP leaders whose claim to establish rule of law is perfunctory at best as they did nothing to stop the wrong practices in government schools but also send a clear cut message to radical forces trying to pretend close to the JMM to continue their illegal activities,” an insider said.
BJP state president and Rajya Sabha member Deepak Prakash, however, said it is wrong to see such an issue with political or communal angle. “Education minister acted in accordance with the law. One should not see the development from a political or communal angle,” he said.
