Gandhinagar: A Gujarat governmental official has been suspended along with a departmental inquiry was launched after contesting a elocution on the topic ‘Maro adarsh Nathuram Godse (My ideal, Nathuram Godse)’. The elocution was held for many governmental and private school students in Valsad district on Monday. Godse was the assassin of The Fatehr of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi in 1949.
Neetaben Gavli, the suspended official is a youth development officer. Students from Class 5 to 8 participated this elocution.There were prizes also distributed for the students who participated in the elocution.
The event was organised at Kusum Vidyalaya, a self-financed school, as part of the district level Bal pratibha shodh spardha (Child talent search competition) under the youth service and cultural activities department of the Gujarat government. The school authorities said they had only lent their premises for hosting the event, and nobody from the school participated in it.
At the event, students from 25 different government and private schools in the district participated, across categories such as elocution, Doha Chhand sopai, folk music, folklore, essay writing, character roles, choral music, bhajans, folk dance and crafts, etc. The prize distribution ceremony was held on the same day.
While the news of the contest went viral on social media, the District Education Office claimed ignorance. District Education officer B D Baraiya said, “We were not aware about the event as it was planned and implemented by the district yuva vikas office. The yuva vikas office had on February 8 circulated a letter to all 25 government and private schools in the district and sought participation of students in different competitions to be held at Kusum Vidyalay on Tithal road in Valsad on February 14. Even the judges were deputed from the Yuva vikas office.”
According to a news report in The Indian Express, “We have suspended the officer concerned, Neetaben Gavli, with immediate effect. Senior officials of the Cultural department in Gandhinagar have initiated an inquiry into the incident,” Valsad district collector Kshipra Agre said.
Senior Congress leader Arjun Modhwadia condemned the incident and tweeted, “In the name of an elocution contest, in Valsad, this is an extremely shameful attempt to indoctrinate children about Godse being a hero, thus creating hatred for Mahatma Gandhi in their minds.” He warned of a public agitation that would ‘blow away’ the BJP if it did not stop ‘worshipping’ Godse.
Kusum Vidyalay, where the event took place, is a higher secondary school run by the Samarpan Charities. School trustee Vivek Desai said, “Not a single student or teacher participated in this event. We got a letter from the district yuva vikas office to offer our classrooms for the competitions.”
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.
