The Hindu : Move to shift vacation in Kendriya Vidyalayas opposed

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Dec 23, 2003

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Move to shift vacation in Kendriya Vidyalayas opposed

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI DEC. 22. The decision to shift the winter vacation in Kendriya Vidyalayas to January came in for considerable criticism in both Houses of Parliament today with the Opposition demanding its withdrawal since ``it would hurt the sentiments of Christians.'' With none of the Human Resource Development Ministers present in either House when the issue was brought up after Question Hour, the Opposition had to contend with an assurance from the Government that their sentiments would be conveyed to the Minister concerned.

In both Houses, the issue was raised by Members from Kerala who questioned the rationale behind doing away with the accepted practice of winter vacations in December. The members urged the Chair in both Houses to ask the Government to revert to the earlier schedule as this decision could well be seen as yet another attack on minorities.

While Varkala Radhakrishnan of the CPI (M) raised the issue in the Lok Sabha, his party colleague in the Rajya Sabha, A. Vijayraghavan, brought it up in the Council of States. Others in the Opposition joined the chorus and the Rajya Sabha had S. Viduthalai Virumbi of the DMK — which this weekend withdrew its Ministers from the Union Council of Ministers — speak out against the decision.

Though the Ministers of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Santosh Gangwar and O. Rajagopal, assured the members in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha respectively that their views would be communicated to the Government, S.S. Ahluwalia of the BJP said the winter vacation had been shifted to January in view of the hardship faced by school-going children in the northern parts of the country due to dense fog.

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