Sunday, July 3 2005 11:14 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Raipur: The BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) Government in Chhattisgarh, which has banned NCERT books, distributed 2.75 crore textbooks in which the photograph of Mahatma Gandhi has been removed and that of Chief Minister Raman Singh incorporated.

The main Opposition Congress has reacted sharply to the Government's action terming it as "disrespect to the Father of the Nation" and demanded withdrawal of the textbooks.

"Is Chief Minister Raman Singh greater than the Father of the Nation?" said Chhattisgarh PCC (Pradesh Congress Committee) General Secretary Ramesh Barlyani and flayed the clarification of the ruling party that there was no politics behind it.

It may be recalled that BJP as the Opposition in Chhattisgarh had made an issue out of school bags containing photographs of the then Chief Minister Ajit Jogi in the run up to the assembly polls.

Barlyani said the State Government's replacing the photograph of Mahatma Gandhi and putting in its place the photo of the Chief Minister was "disrespect" to the Father of the nation.

"It was strange that the BJP Government was banning distribution of NCERT books, which were not containing the photograph of even the Prime Minister whereas in the State the Raman Government was involved in cheap publicity by printing the photograph of the Chief Minister," he said.

State BJP spokesman Rashik Parmar denied there was any politics behind the Chief Minister's photo in text books and said it was aimed at "inspiring children to go to school for education."