Competing with Himanta: Bengal opposition on CM's education push

West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari has triggered a fresh political storm over education after calling for sweeping changes to the state’s school system, including the mandatory singing of the full version of Vande Mataram, the end of a separate madrasa education system and a major expansion of Vidya Bharati schools. 

Speaking at an event organised by Vidya Bharati in Kolkata on Thursday, Adhikari said there should be one common education framework across West Bengal and that there should be no discrimination in educational institutions. 

But his remarks have drawn sharp criticism from opposition parties, which accused him of using education to impose a particular political and cultural ideology. 

Adhikari said schools would have to sing the full version of Vande Mataram during prayer assemblies if they wanted to receive government grants. He said there had initially been objections to singing the complete song, but made it clear that his government would not compromise on the issue. “If the full song is not sung, the process of both receiving and granting government aid would be halted,” he said.  

Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kalyan Banerjee accused Adhikari of making unconstitutional statements and warned that any attempt to establish RSS-run schools through the government would face legal opposition. “Suvendu Adhikari is saying unconstitutional things... he speaks like an illiterate person. The government cannot open any RSS schools. If it does, we will take the matter to court.” 

Senior CPI(M) leader Mohammed Salim took a different line, accusing the BJP of using education to advance an ideological agenda. “It is good that Suvendu Adhikari is speaking about education for the first time in his life,” Salim added.

He defended the Left Front’s record on access to education and said the policy of introducing English education had helped poorer and rural students. “During our rule, the National Commission had decided that students all over India would learn English from the age of 12. I don’t know if RSS ever protested it. Adhikari at that time was in a different party. This helped the poor and rural students to join school in West Bengal,” Salim said. 

Salim accused the BJP of deliberately weakening government schools in favour of private organisations. “It is the policy of the BJP to shut down government schools. You can see how many government schools have been shut in the last 12 years. They want to encourage private organisations to run schools like a business. RSS is also a private organisation and hence Suvendu, as expected, is going to encourage them to make schools and run their ideology,” he said. 

Salim also alleged that RSS-linked organisations were receiving financial support from people in India and abroad, and claimed that the organisation’s educational approach was exclusionary. “The RSS wants to exclude a major section of the people from education. They want to exclude poor, marginalised, lower middle class and the underprivileged from ration, voter list and education. Development means inclusiveness,” he said 

Congress leader Suvankar Sarkar also accused Adhikari of trying to win favour with the RSS leadership. “Suvendu wants to become a bigger BJP leader than Himanta Biswa Sarma. He is only trying to appease the RSS by saying such things,” Sarkar said.

He accused the BJP of selectively using cultural symbols to target Muslims. “They are only targeting the Muslims as the madrasas did not want to sing the added stanza of the song,” he alleged.

Sarkar also questioned why the BJP was focusing on Vande Mataram while, in his view, not placing the same emphasis on Jana Gana Mana, written by Rabindranath Tagore. He claimed, “They are not insisting on Jana Gana Mana as Tagore was associated with the Congress. They are trying to create a rift between Tagore and Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay.”

Sarkar then challenged Adhikari and his ministers to demonstrate their own command of the national song. “I will ask Suvendu Adhikari and his cabinet members to stand on the road and sing Vande Mataram without a hitch,” he said. “Will they resign from their MLA posts if they fail to sing the song? They are trying to compel people to do whatever they want.”