UP 'teaching instructors' disrupt home minister's function in Lucknow

A group of Utar Pradesh Education Department's teaching instructors, agitating for raise of their wages, Monday disrupted a statute-unveiling function of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh here.

The home minister had arrived here to unveil the statue of little-known warrior queen Avantibai of Ramgarh, situated in present-day Madhya Pradesh. She had played a leading role during the 1857 revolt against the British empire.

The instructors reached the venue of the home minister's function and raised slogans against the government, seeking hike in their honorarium and regularisation of their services.

They were, however, pacified by the Union minister, who assured them of looking into their problems after the function.

In his brief address, Singh recalled the valour of Avantibai, who like legendary Rani Laxmi Bai of Jhansi, was fiercely opposed to the Lord Dalhousie's 1848 "doctrine of lapse" aimed at arbitrary annexation of Indian kingdoms on death of their rulers without a direct heir.

The minister regretted that not much could be done to commemorate the contribution of the brave sons and daughters like her.

"At least we can pay homage to her by garlanding her statue on a particular day and recall the contributions made by freedom fighters like her for the country," the Union minister remarked.