Goa Congress slams Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Teachers' Day telecast

PANAJI: Even as almost all Goa schools are gearing up to show live telecast of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address on Teachers' Day tomorrow, Congress has questioned the "forceful viewing of the telecast."

"Such action by the (education) department will not come until and unless there is order from higher-ups. This order is politically motivated. It is like forcing students to watch the telecast," Congress' Goa unit spokesman Durgadas Kamat alleged.

The state education department issued a circular asking all heads of the government, government-aided, unaided, non-government primary, secondary and higher secondary schools to arrange for viewing of the PM's address tomorrow from 2.30 PM to 4.45 PM.

The schools which have opened after the seven-day Ganesh festival vacation today will have to arrange for a television set, and report back to the department.

The circular, regarding the telecast, has been issued by education department's deputy director Ramkrishna Samant, and also by Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan.

The Congress has questioned as to why children should be forced to view it in school, as they can watch it at home.

"This order is politically motivated. The young and innocent children are being dragged into political compulsion by the 'Modi-fied' government," Kamat alleged.

"This is just a beginning and trailer of this government, the entire picture is yet to be unfolded," he said.

"This clearly looks like India is going the Taliban way," he further alleged.

"If government wants children to see PM's address, a message could have been sent that he is addressing on television. The children could watch it at their homes too," he said.

Meanwhile, the education department has said all the schools will telecast the address tomorrow.

"The circular was issued on August 28. There was enough time for the schools to arrange for TV sets. The schools have responded back saying that the arrangements are in place," said a senior education department official.

Earlier, Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani had made it clear that the students' participation in the interaction was "voluntary".