Daijiworld Media Network - Begusarai (SHP)
Begusarai, Feb 19: Union minister Giriraj Singh on Thursday attracted controversy when he stated that the children educated at missionary schools lacked 'sanskaar' and therefore practice the habit of consuming beef once they go abroad.
Singh made the statement while addressing a religious function at his Lok Sabha constituency in Begusarai of Bihar. He propagated the idea of teaching of 'shlokas' from Bhagavad Gita and the chanting verses from Hanuman Chalisa at private schools.
"I would like to say to people present here, this practice should start from the private schools since, at government-run ones, we run the risk of inviting accusations of imposing the bhagwa (saffron) agenda", Singh said.
"At private schools, students should be taught shlokas of Bhagavad Gita and Hanuman Chalisa," he added.
"I say this because it has been seen that at schools run by missionaries, children from well-off families excel academically, go on to have successful careers, but when they go abroad they eat beef. Why so? This is because we have not inculcated 'sanskaar' into them", the Union minister asserted.
"We are often accused of being radicals. Our culture is that of generosity. We feed ants with sugar and serpents with milk. It is another thing that sometimes the serpents end up intimidating us", the BJP leader known for his copious use of innuendos, said.
Singh also spoke in support of the CAA at a press conference where he equated protests against the contentious legislation with Pakistan-sponsored "Ghazwa-e-Hind" (holy war against India) and lambasted opposition parties like the Congress and West Bengal Chief Ministers TMC for their strident criticism of the new law.
He dared the Congress to come out and openly proclaim that it supports granting citizenship to all illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and the Rohingyas from Myanmar and maintained that the opposition was only leveraging protests against CAA for votes.
The Union minister also deplored the recent instance of 'durvyavahar' (misbehaviour) with Arif Mohammad Khan governor of Kerala, who was heckled by acclaimed Leftist historian Irfan Habib at a public function where Khan was defending the CAA.
"All these things are part of Pakistans Ghazwa-e-Hind, aimed at weakening India. CAA is just an excuse. It is an instance of kahin pe nigahen, kahin pe nishane", said the BJP leader, borrowing a line from an old Bollywood song that speaks about ones gaze and attention being in different directions.
Singh also blatantly slammed Mamata Banerjee and her party for attacking the Centre over the rejection of West Bengal's tableau proposal for Republic Day parade. The tableau was allegedly related to the protesting of the amended Citizenship Act.
"What does she mean when she says she does not accept CAA? It is a central law, binding upon all parts of the country", the staunch Hindutva leader Singh commented.
Backlash over missionary statement
Meanwhile, the comment by the minister has not gone down well with the Mahila Congress social media Karnataka state coordinator, Sheryl Iona. Proven to be quite vocal regarding her views, Iona launched a scathing attack on Singh on her official Twitter handle. In her tweet, she referred Singh as someone who lacked brains.
"...And the ones who study in Shakhas just like this, lack the existence of brain within their heads !!!", Iona tweeted.