Madhya Pradesh: Colleges Students Will Read RSS Related Books; Congress Slams Mohan Yadav Government

The Higher Education Department has issued a directive that students studying in government and private colleges in Madhya Pradesh should read books related to RSS. The Opposition Congress has lashed out at the Mohan Yadav-led government over the directive.

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The books related to RSS and penned by RSS leaders will be a part of the syllabus in colleges in Madhya Pradesh. A directive to this effect was issued by the Higher Education Department.

In a letter issued to principals of all government and private colleges, Dr Dhirendra Shukla, a senior official of the Higher Education Department, has asked them to buy books, which include books penned by RSS Saha Karyavah Suresh Soni, Dinanath Batra, Dr Atul Kothari, Devendra Rao Deshmukh, Sandeep Waslekar and others. These writers are associated with Vidya Bharti, an education wing of the RSS.

राज्य सरकार ने RSS से जुड़े लेखकों द्वारा लिखित पुस्तकें शासकीय/अशासकीय शिक्षण संस्थाओं को ख़रीदने का किया फ़रमान जारी….!

♦️उल्लेखनीय है,जिन लेखकों के नाम इस सूची में शामिल हैं उनका शिक्षा जगत से कोई ताल्लुक़ नहीं,वे सिर्फ़ एक विचारधारा विशेष को ही समर्पित रहे हैं,कांग्रेस… pic.twitter.com/kwSlZqpuWX

— KK Mishra (@KKMishraINC) August 12, 2024

The Higher Education Department has given a list of 88 books and it has asked colleges to buy these books immediately. The colleges have been asked to buy the books through public participation and some of the books cost Rs 11,000.

The opposition Congress has lashed out at the Mohan Yadav-led government and asked whether books written by those who believe in 'saffron' ideology can become a source of inspiration.

Congress leader KK Mishra said, "The directive has been issued to respect the RSS, which is not related to the freedom struggle. The writers whose names are on the list are not connected with education. They are following one particular ideology and we will cancel the directive once Congress comes to power."

The BJP termed the allegations levelled by Congress as baseless. BJP spokesperson Pankaj Chaturvedi said, "What is the problem is students are taught about Indian culture. Apart from Suresh Soni, there are books written by Ved Pratap Vaidik and Swami Vivekananda. There are over 14 English books in the list. The RSS is a nationalist and social organisation and so if students read about it, then what is the issue? However, the Congress politics of polarisation gets affected by it."