Taking a swipe at West Bengal's Mamata Banerjee government which opposed the circular on viewing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address on September 11, Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday said it is "politicising any and everything" and accused it of "infringing into unity and integrity of the country".
"Really, no comments to make. I can only say I feel sorry for the people of West Bengal..." he said to a query that the state government's stand that it would not direct state-run varsities to follow the University Grants Commission (UGC) circular asking all the Vice Chancellors of universities and heads of higher educational institutions to "provide opportunity and facility to the teachers and students to view" Modi's address to students.
Asked about the state's claim that such circular was infringing into federal system, Goyal said: "It is very sad that state government is politicising any and everything. He is the Prime Minister of India. India is a united and one country ... making such comments I think the state government and Mamata Banerjee ji is actually infringing into unity and integrity of the country."
Modi would be addressing a student leaders' convention on the theme of 'Young lndia, New India - A Resurgent Nation: from Sankalp to Sidhhi' in New Delhi on the occasion of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya's centenary celebration and 125th anniversary of Swami Vivekananda's address at the Chicago World Parliament of Religions.
Goyal also alleged the state government's activities were indulging to "communalism".
"It is said in their (the Banerjee government's) over-anxiety to appease a section of society and that is more than evident from the step being recently taken to try and stop one community (Hindus) from even doing the religious rites which is integral part for decades or centuries and this kind of like communalism that the state government of West Bengal has indulged in must stop forthwith," Goyal said when asked that the state described the circular as an attempt to 'saffronise' education.
