Chandigarh: Steering clear of any controversy, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today said he has no programme to address students on Teacher's Day like Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
When asked about an advisory issued by Haryana School Shiksha Pariyojna Parishad, headquartered in Panchkula, that he would be addressing students and teachers on September 5, barely hours before the Prime Minister's address, Hooda said, “I don't have any such programme.”
“No, there is no such programme involving me,” the Chief Minister clarified at a press conference here this evening. Hooda further said that even in case of Prime Minister's televised address, there would be no compulsion and the students would have the option whether to attend it or not. According to the Parishad's advisory issued three days ago, Hooda was expected to address students and teachers across the state via a live broadcast on the occasion of Teacher's Day on September 5.
Modi's scheduled pep-talk to about 1,000 selected students in New Delhi would be beamed live to over 18 lakh government and private schools in the country.
The Parishad, a registered society and implementing agency for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan in the state, had issued an adivisory about Hooda's programme.
The state's education department and other concerned officials had been directed to ensure that the addresses of Hooda and the Prime Minister are telecast live via the EduSat Technology.
According to the Parishad's advisory, which had also been issued to private schools, each school equipped with adequate apparatus was to ensure that students and teachers watch the Chief Minister's address.
