The State Government has done it again. Last year when all other states in the country and the Central Government celebrated Swami Vivekananda’s Jayanthi as national youth day, State Government’s Public Relations Department had not carried Swami’s photograph in its advertisement placed in the newspapers marking the occasion.
This year, it has gone one step ahead by wrongly marking the jayanthi day on the government calendar for 2013.
When Swamji’s jayanthi would be celebrated across the country on January 12 , Kerala Government’s calendar for 2013 has recorded Swamiji’s jayanthi day as February 2.
It has been pointed out that the Central Government had given due recognition and importance to the 150th Jayanthi celebrations of Swamiji. It had granted Sree Ramakrishna Mission an amount of Rs 100 crore to observe the 150th jayanthi in an appropriate manner across the country.
The Central Government also has scheduled a function in New Delhi to mark the occasion on January 12.
President Pranab Kumar Mukherjee and several other dignitaries are also scheduled to attend the function.
Vivekananda Kendram, Kanyakumari, president P Parameswaran, who is also the director of the Bharatheeya Vichara Kendram, demanded at a meeting of Vivekanda Jayanthi celebration committee here on Monday that government should realise its fault and immediately withdraw the calendar.
”If the government did not withdraw it, the people would correct it,” he said.
Speaking to ‘Express’ Parameswaran said: “A section of bureaucrats and others in the government might have dubious intentions in wrongly representing the facts. It cannot be treated as a mere mistake. Last year they neglected Swamiji even when the entire country had celebrated his Jayanthi as national youth day. They carried the photos of Ministers giving no place for Swamiji in the PRD advertisement,” he said.
He asked the government to withdraw the calendar or face the wrath of the people.