AHMEDABAD: A private school in Gujarat is in the eye of the storm after it conducted an oratory competition on the topic ‘My role model – Nathuram Godse’.
The competition was held as part of a district-level talent search (Bal Pratibha Shodh Spardha) under the youth service and cultural activities department of Gujarat government, at a self-financing school, Kusum Vidyalaya. Children, aged between 8 and 12 years, from 25 government and private schools in Valsad district participated in the competition.
School authorities had given a choice of three topics to the students: ‘I like only those birds who fly in the sky’, ‘I will become a scientist but will not go to the America’ and ‘My Role Model - Nathuram Godse’.
Incidentally, the student who chose the topic of Godse and portrayed Mahatma Gandhi’s killer as a hero was declared the winner.
After the incident created uproar, the Gujarat government suspended District Youth Development Officer Mita Gavli and launched an inquiry.
Minister of State for Sports, Youth and Cultural Activities, Harsh Saghavi, assured “action against the guilty”.
District Primary Education Officer BD Baraiya said, “We were not aware of such an event organised at Kusum Vidyalay, as it was planned and implemented by district yuva vikas office.”
Archana Desai, administrator of the school, passed the buck on the state government.
“The entire planning of the competition was done by the district education office and the selection of topics was also done by government officials,” she said.
Terming the matter as “shameful”, Gujarat Congress working president Hardik Patel said, “It is unfortunate that government officials are trying to drive the BJP agenda in the state. This is Gandhi’s Gujarat and yet someone came forward to organise a competition on ‘My Idol Nathuram Godse’.”