PATNA: The closure of some schools on Fridays has led to a fresh controversy in Bihar, with the ruling JD-U underplaying the issue and Union minister Giriraj Singh calling such a move akin to Sharia laws.“Observing holiday on Friday instead of Sunday is a violation of law. Holiday on Friday is like Sharia law. Earlier, such a practice was followed in Uttar Pradesh, and now it has surfaced in Bihar,” Singh said on Saturday.
The Nitish government has asked authorities to submit a report on school closure on Fridays. “Sunday has been a holiday since Independence,” Singh remarked. He is in Patna for national-level meet of BJP’s organisations. Around 500 government schools in Bihar, particularly in Muslim-dominated Kishanganj, Katihar, Araria and Purnea, have declared a holiday on Friday.
Several BJP leaders have objected to shifting of the holiday. BJP MP Rakesh Sinha said, “Government holidays are not declared on the basis of religion. Any violation is a communal decision.”Deputy CM Tarkishore Prasad, who comes from Katihar district, said, “There is no need to intervene in the matter.” He said Education Minister Vijay Choudhary has assured him that the matter is being looked into.JD-U parliamentary board chairman Upendra Kushwaha tweeted that holidays are given on Ashtami and Pratipada in Sanskrit schools.