Rajasthan Education Minister Govind Singh Dotasra on Monday accused the previous BJP government of glorifying Sangh ideologues Veer Savarkar and Deendayal Upadhyaya.
Dotasra pointed out that the curriculum review committee, constituted after the Congress government came to power last year, had written on the basis of strong facts and evidences that Savarkar had begged the British for mercy.
It has been added into the curriculum, the Congress leader said. "It might affect the BJP, but it doesn't affect us. We will teach whatever is in the history."
Dotasra's comments came after former education minister Vasudev Devnani had alleged that the Congress government had "insulted" Savarkar. "After Maharana Pratap, the Congress government has insulted great patriot and freedom fighter Veer Savarkar by its anti-Hindutva mentality. The party idolising only one family has always shown such conduct about other great personalities," Devnani tweeted earlier in the day.
Dotasra claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dispensation, led by then chief minister Vasundhara Raje, had made the school education department a laboratory for experiments, adding that it added chapters in the curriculum on the indications of the RSS.
Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel all had their role in the freedom movement, Dotasra said. He also acknowledged the role of former prime ministers Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh's in the nation's development.
"But, it is not right to glorify Veer Savarkar and Deendayal Upadhyaya and describe them great," he added.
The minister said they might be having some contribution, but added that the way the previous BJP government had glorified them had been reviewed by the curriculum review committee.
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