Patna: Opposition RJD is fuming after the Bihar Government decided to do away with the chapter on its supremo Lalu Yadav in a textbook taught in schools in the state for over a decade, saying it was politically motivated.
But Chief Minister Nitesh Kumar defended the action on Wednesday, saying "mention of people who are still living should be avoided in the pages of history."
The view by the government that the Railway Minister and former Bihar chief minister was not good enough for their academic curriculum was also contested by the RJD, which said young impressionable students would be deprived of an opportunity to learn about the contributions of a 'great secular leader like Lalu Prasad'.
Taking a swipe at Lalu, Kumar said in Delhi his innings is not over yet. "His ambition is to hold the 'lathi department' (Home Ministry) and even more (Prime Minister's post)," he added.
The government will be withdrawing the chapter titled Mitti ke Gaurav (Pride of the Land) which was included in the textbook Gadya Sopan for Class Eight students when the irrepressible leader had become chief minister in 1993.
The chapter, which was in the eye of controversy since its inception, is likely to be replaced with a life sketch of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, a 19th Century social reformer and educationist from the next academic session.
The decision was taken after a recent review by the state Human Resources Development (HRD). "We have decided to strike off the entire chapter, which also included the lives of former state chief ministers Bhola Paswan Shastri and Karpoori Thakur as stature of these leaders was not exalted enough to be included in the academic curriculum," said Principal Secretary of the Human Resource Development Department Anjani Kumar Singh.
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