Ram Shankar Katheria, MoS HRD says if it helps the nation, saffronisation of education will be done

Addressing a function in poll bound state, he said saffronisation of education will bring honour to the nation

Union Minister of State for Human Resource Management, Ram Shankar Katheria is in the news yet again, this time by giving a controversial statement on saffronisation of education, while addressing a function in Lucknow University.

According to The Hindu, he said that saffronisation of education shall be done if it good for the nation. He said that it is the need of the hour to make some long overdue changes in the curriculum that would increase nation's samman (honour) and swabhimaan (Self-respect), on the occasion of 342nd coronation year of Maratha warrior-king Shivaji, in poll-bound state of Uttar Pradesh.
 

This is not the first time the Member of Parliament from Agra has said something controversial. According to a report in India Today, he faced heat from the National Students Union of India as his supporters had beaten up the workers of NSUI. They were protesting outside his residence as they had alleged him for illegally occupying a large portion of University Teachers' hostel which he uses as his home. 

The Times of India reported that he was given a notice by the Allahabad High Court, responding to a PIL, for not producing his income details. The PIL was filed by city Congress leader Tajendra Rajora. Interestingly, he has 20 pending cases against him.

If it seems like all the controversies are related just to his personal issues, they are not. The Economic Times reported that he took an apparent dig at the Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi. While highlighting the achievements of the Modi government, he said that government has achieved a lot but 'Pappu' does not understand. 

According to a report in DNA, Ram Shankar Katheria said, "We have been seeing this for a long time...Whatever is in the interest of the country, for the benefit of the country, on the basis of which the nation can stand with pride in the world, should it not be made part of the syllabus or should it not been taught to our children". He said, "If students do not read about Maharana Pratap or Shivaji, will they then read about Ghengis Khan."

Ram Shankar Katheria was vocal about the Kairana migration. In the report of The Indian Express, he said that migration is wrong “whether it is of Hindus or of Muslims”. He said so while addressing a gathering at a school in Etah district. 

He accused the Akhilesh Yadav government for his utter failure  at managing the law and order in the state and said, Samajwadi Party was directly involved in the Jawahar Bagh incident. He demanded CBI prove into the issue.

“Pradesh me andha kanoon chal raha hai. Yahi kaaran hai ki log palaayan ko majboor hain. Aur iska shreya rajya sarkar ko jaata hai (There is no law and order in the state. This is why people are being forced to flee. The credit for this must go to the state government),” he said.   

When he had the opportunity to speak on education he turned it into a controversy. He said that saffronisation of education is good, both for education and the country. Although his comment might fuel up the opposition to launch a scathing attack on the BJP government in the centre, it can also be seen as a move to polarising voter base in the state that goes into election next year.