Cong leaders yet to receive invite for PM's swearing-in ceremony: Jairam Ramesh
New Delhi, Jun 8: Congress leaders are yet to receive invitations for Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi's swearing-in ceremony on June 9, the party said on Saturday and also claimed that Modi had lost political and moral authority as he "did not get" the people's mandate in the Lok Sabha polls.
The dignitaries and special invitees attending the ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Sunday evening, include leaders from India's neighbourhood and the Indian Ocean Region.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said party leaders have not received any invitation for PM Modi's swearing-in ceremony, while all invitations are going to international leaders.
"The person taking the oath has lost his personal, political and moral authority. Mandate was sought in his (Modi) name, he did not get it, and we don't understand why this drama of swearing-in is being undertaken," Ramesh told reporters after a meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party at the Central hall of the old Parliament building.
After the meeting of the Congress Working Committee earlier in the day, Congress general secretary K C Venugopal had said at a media briefing that the INDIA bloc will take a call on attending Modi's swearing-in ceremony. "So far, we have not got an invitation," he said.
Speaking at the media briefing, Ramesh said only international leaders have been invited for tomorrow's swearing-in ceremony.
"Our leaders have not received invitations yet. When the invitation comes to our INDIA 'janbandhan' leaders, if it comes, we will consider it," he said.
Besides leaders of foreign countries, 10 loco pilots of the Indian Railways have also been invited to the ceremony which is slated to take place at 7:15 pm at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Though the BJP could not get a majority on its own in the recent Lok Sabha polls, the party-led alliance secured 293 seats out of 543. The Congress got 99 seats in the polls. The majority mark in the lower house is 272.
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
