New Delhi: AAP on Monday attacked Union minister Mahesh Sharma over his "irresponsible" remarks that lessons from the 'Mahabharata' and the 'Gita' may soon be taught in schools and colleges, alleging it was being done at the behest of RSS.
Senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh said Sharma's remarks did not come as a "surprise" after senior ministers of the Narendra Modi cabinet attended the "RSS school", referring to the recent meeting between ministers and RSS functionaries to assess the performance of the central government.
"How can a minister give such an irresponsible statement? Today, they have said lessons should be taught from the 'Gita' and the 'Mahabharata'. Tomorrow, there will be a demand to teach lessons from 'Quran', 'Bible' and 'Granth Sahib'. What type of country do we want to create? This is against the basic principles of our Constitution," Singh said.
Union Minister of State for Tourism and Civil Aviation Sharma, in an interview last week, had said lessons from 'Mahabharata', 'Ramayana' and 'Gita' may soon be taught in schools and colleges as part of the NDA government's plan to free the country of "cultural pollution" and inculcate "values" among young minds.
Sharma said the Ministries of Culture and HRD are working on a plan to teach students about India's "cultural values", following detailed deliberations at a meeting of Education and Culture Ministers of BJP-ruled states and the Centre, besides RSS affiliates.
Attacking the BJP over the ongoing controversy over meat ban, AAP leader Singh said the party was resorting to such tactics as it wants to deviate attention from the core issues.
"Union Minister Rajnath Singh said in his statement that he and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has no qualms in saying that they have an affiliation with the RSS. The BJP does not want discussion on price rise, unemployment and corruption. The ministers speak what is taught in school of the RSS," the AAP leader said.
