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Bengaluru, Oct 16 (IANS) The Congress-led government in Karnataka on Thursday re-issued an old circular issued by the office of the Commissioner of the Karnataka Department of Public Instruction, which forbids using government school grounds for private purposes.
The circular dated February 7, 2013 clearly states that government school grounds and premises should not be used for private purposes or for activities other than academic activities.
Along with this, the Siddaramaiah government is preparing to ban the activities of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in the campuses of government and aided schools in the state. This comes after a letter on the issue of RDPR, IT and BT Minister, Priyank Kharge.
CMO sources confirmed that this old circular was issued in response to Kharge’s letter demanding a ban on RSS activities in public places including schools and colleges.
The circular signed by then commissioner SR Umashankar said that when a request was made to allow the use of government school grounds in Chamarajpet, Bengaluru, it was found that such premises should be used only by school children for daily activities like sports, physical education and academic purposes.
“In this background, school premises and grounds should not be used for activities unrelated to academic or educational purposes. It is directed that no permission should be issued for such purposes,” the circular said. It further directed that proposals seeking permission for such use should not be sent to the Commissioner’s office.
According to sources, the state government wants to use this circular to ban all RSS activities within the school premises and grounds. He also confirmed that the issue will be raised in the cabinet meeting on Thursday (October 16).
Speaking on the development, Home Minister G Parameshwara said in Bengaluru on Thursday, “At present, the issue of banning RSS activities is not on the agenda of the cabinet meeting. If it comes as an additional agenda item, we will discuss it and take a decision. Usually, there are additional agendas.”
He said, “There is already a provision against allowing private or religious activities at government places. This is not new. However, it has not been strictly enforced. At times, when one or more organizations sought permission for public grounds, a decision was taken to grant permission to one of them or to deny permission to all. We will see what decision is taken in the cabinet meeting when the matter comes up for discussion.”
It is noteworthy that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had also asked Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh to investigate the demand for banning RSS activities in public places, especially government and aided school campuses. The CM also directed him to study the measures taken in this regard in Tamil Nadu.
–IANS
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