What is the need to cancel the public holiday of Gandhi Jayanti?

Date: - September 29, 2014

To,

Hon. Shri. Swadhin Kshatriya,

Chief Secretary, Maharashtra.

Sir,

The implementation of the scheme announced by the Government of India namely, Swachha Bharat, Swachha Vidyalaya, is supposed to start from October 2, 2014 – the auspicious day of Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti. The day is a public holiday, as Gandhi Jayanti is celebrated as a national occasion. Therefore, the schools are also closed. However, this year the public holiday is cancelled for implementing the scheme proposed by the Hon. Prime Minister. The students will, therefore, be required to attend school on that day and clean classrooms, school premises and rest rooms. A letter is issued by the Secretary, State Education Department to all schools across Maharashtra by citing the letter received from the Additional Secretary, School Education, Central Government.

Every sensitive citizen would welcome the cleanliness drives undertaken either by the Central Government or the State Government. But, what is the need to cancel the public holiday of Gandhi Jayanti for the same? This is a day of national occasion, meant to remember the Father of the Nation and to celebrate the joy of freedom. Every festival is meant to celebrate with joy, what is the need to take away that joy from the school children’s life?

Perusal of letters issued by the State Government and the Central Government in this regard clearly show that the “Swachha Bharat, Swachha Vidyalaya” drive is to be undertaken betweenSeptember 25 and October 31. This is essentially a part of Nirmal Bharat scheme and in which a public toilet facility is to be made available in every school across the country. On August 15, while addressing the nation from Red Fort, prime minister Narendra Modi appealed to construct public toilet facility in every school and the drive is undertaken to comply with the appeal.

In fact, the Supreme Court on India has already issued directive of constructing public toilet in every school one-and-half years back. There is a clear provision to that effect in the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education, 2009. Citing these two references, I myself took an initiative and sought from the Deputy Chief Minister funds for constructing public toilets in schools in Mumbai and in March 2013, the Finance Department even allocated funds to the extent of Rs 36 crore. The red tapism ate up a complete year, but the implementation finally began on August 15, 2014. Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan was inaugurating the first public toilet in a school at Dharavi, when the Prime Minister was making an appeal from the Red Fort. In Ganesh Vidyalaya in Dharavi first bio-toilet is fixed and similar toilets are expected to be fitted in every other school in Mumbai in coming six months or a year. So, “Swachha Bharat, Swachha Vidyalaya” drive had already begun in Maharashtra even before the Government of India announced to undertake it. And, therefore, there is no need to cancel the public holiday onOctober 2, 2014 and the work can be completed anytime during Deewali vacations and can be continued even beyond vacations.

The day of Gandhi Jayanti is of traditional holiday in India. It is meant for recollection the contribution of all the freedom fighters that fought for India’s freedom. Cancellation of the holiday raises doubts about the underlying hidden agenda of attempting to reduce the importance of Mahatma Gandhi under the guise of implementation of the scheme!

Kindly, intervene at the earliest and retain the public holiday of Gandhi Jayanti and issue appropriate directions to all the schools across Maharashtra to implement the cleanliness drive any time before October 31.

Thanking you,

Yours sincerely,

 Kapil Patil, MLC