After 'Modicare', West Bengal govt says no to PM Modi's 'Pariksha Pe Charcha'

West Bengal government on Thursday refused the Centre's proposal to make arrangements for schools to listen to Prime Minister Narendra Modi 's 'Pariksha par Charcha' on Friday.

PM Modi will connect with lakhs of students and thousands of schools across the country and will discuss exam-related issues through a video conference from Delhi's Talkatora Stadium at 11:00 am.

Speaking to News18, State Education Minister Partha Chatterjee, said, "No we are not going to follow the CBSE circular. It is not mandatory that we have to follow such instructions or circular from the Centre."

"Examinations are close by and students are busy in their studies. Not possible to follow the circular," he added.

According to reports, students from Class 6 to 12 have been asked to watch on Doordarshan, All India Radio, YouTube and all government websites the telecast of what has been dubbed the "Pariksha Pe Charcha" - a twist on his famous "Chai Pe Charcha" campaign during the 2014 general elections.

Schools have been asked to submit a two-minute video of students watching 'Pariksha Pe Charcha' or four paragraphs about it by the very next day.

Union HRD minister Prakash Javadekar had asked all states to make provisions for live telecast of the interactive session in schools irrespective of boards."It is exam time and we don't think it is appropriate to disturb children for receiving exam tips.

To help the students in exams, a book by PM Modi was launched recently which offered '25 mantras' to the students as he urged them to treat examinations as "a festival" and "celebrate it". Modi's book called the "Exam Warriors", hit the bookstores last weekend on the verge of final examinations in schools.

This is not for the first time that the Bengal government has said no to Centre's proposal.

On Wednesday, West Bengal became the first state to withdraw from the ambitious programme National Health Protection Scheme (NHPS) announced in the Union Budget 2018 as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has announced the decision to opt out of the scheme.

Mamata Banerjee claimed that the Bengal government had already enrolled 50 lakh people under its own 'Swasthya Sathi' programme. This scheme was officially launched by CM Mamata Banerjeeon 30th December 2016.

In September Mamata had directed all the universities and colleges under its jurisdiction to ignore the directive of University Grants Commission (UGC) to arrange live telecast of Modi's speech (on September 11) on the occasion of the 125th anniversary of Swami Vivekananda's address to the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago.

OneIndia News