The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Maharashtra government’s Directorate of Education on Wednesday made an announcement to distribute Bhagavad Gita to 100 colleges in Mumbai. This has led to a major controversy.
In Nagpur, after the circular came to the light, opposition parties lashed out at the government, demanding to know the reason why religious books were going to be distributed in educational institutions.
However, state education minister Vinod Tawde clarified that it was not a governmental project but an organisation, A.C. Bhaktivedanta group from Thane that had sought permission for distributing the books in colleges. The government did not buy or distribute copies of the book, but gave a list of colleges on receiving the request.
Taking a dig at the opposition, Tawde questioned whether the opposition didn’t find the book worthy enough to be distributed in educational institutions. He said the government was ready to distribute books of other religions including The Bible or Quran, in colleges.
In response, state Congress president Jayant Patil said they were not against the book but had questioned the reasons for distributing them in educational institutions.