CHANDIGARH: Political war of words on the Haryana Government’s plan to introduce recitation of Gayatri Mantra during the morning prayers in government schools of state. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar says moral values to be inculcated in children.
Haryana Chief Minister, Manohar Lal Khattar took strong exception to the remarks made by the opposition on the decision to include ‘Gayatri Mantra’ in the morning prayers in government schools, saying the 3-R's--Reading, Writing and Arithmetic---may be vital but are not enough. Moral values too must be inculcated in children to make them grow as responsible citizens and become an asset to the society.
He said the opposition was in the habit of criticizing every decision the government took. Inculcation of moral values in children is necessary to make them understand what is right and what is wrong, what is just and what is unjust. He also underlined the significance of moral values in curbing the tendency to commit crime in the society.
Khattar said besides the introduction of new courses, biographies of great personalities who sacrificed their lives for the country should also be taught to children so that they could draw inspiration from their lives. The sacred book of
Gita, Panchatantra and ancient short stories are a rich source of knowledge and wisdom, he added.
Kiran Choudhry, Leader of the Haryana Congress Legislature Party, took asked the Manohar Lal Khattar Government to practice before you preach, and learn from Gita the lesson of Karma (doing one’s work selflessly) before teaching its sermons to the students in schools, and slammed it for total failure on all fronts. She accused the BJP Government of resorting to diversionary tactics like reciting Gayatri Mantra and shlokas from Gita in schools, to divert people’s attention from its inertness and inaction on issues that concern the people of the state, especially the farmers. The government has little to show by way of performance on any single front and people are feeling fed up, she remarked.
“The farmers continue to reel from agrarian distress, the employees are up in arms, traders are restive, women and girls are feeling insecure due to frequent incidents of rape and murder, and the man in the street is suffering due to poor law-and-order situation and rampant corruption in government offices. All this as the BJP Government keeps looking the other way or keeps chasing wrong priorities”, Choudhry said.