Confusion prevailed in Bengal schools over the way they would celebrate the Independence Day following Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s tweet that all schools were free to celebrate the Day in their own
special way. The situation was the product of initial reports that the State Government had directed the schools to “ignore” a circular issued by the Centre to celebrate the Day in a way to promote a “patriotic mood” and a mass “fervour” to help realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “New India.”
Strongly reacting to claims that she had asked the schools to ignore the Central circular, Mamata said some people were intentionally “misrepresenting facts” on her Government’s stand. The Chief Minister said all schools of her State were free to celebrate the Day as per their choice.
The “contradictory” stances allegedly taken by the Government left many school authorities “confused” said senior official of the Education Ministry, adding they were being “sandwiched between two Governments led by two parties in war.”
Earlier the State had virtually negated the Union Human Resources Ministry circular for celebrating the 70th year of Independence that suggested some “additional participatory activities in schools and colleges.” The circular also advised the programmes to be celebrated in schools to be video-graphed.
Against the back drop of the Central circular a directive reportedly issued by the State Government said “it has been decided by t he School Education department that Independence Day will not be celebrated in this manner” asking the authorities to celebrate the Day the way they do every year.
Subsequently Education Minister Partho Chatterjee said his Government did not oppose the Centre’s proposal but “we have said that we will celebrate in our own way” and not take “lessons of patriotism from the BJP.”
The Centre had no right to give whip and dictate others about patriotism, he maintained adding that it was not possible to conduct the “proposed videogaphy of the celebration” of all the 2 lakh schools in the State.
Before Banerjee reacted to the alleged “misrepresentation” of facts Union Minister Prakash Javedkar had called the State Government’s decision as “unfortunate.”