BJP leaders in Surat are now facing criticism for promoting their party icons among students in government schools. Notebooks distributed to students under the Surat Municipal Education Committee have sparked controversy. Instead of national icons like Sardar Patel, Mahatma Gandhi, Dr B R Ambedkar, Bhagat Singh, or Swami Vivekananda, the cover pages of these notebooks feature photographs of Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Bhupendra Patel, J P Nadda, and C R Patil.
The notebooks distributed in schools under the Surat Municipal Corporation’s Education Committee have now become a topic of political debate. Opposition leaders have strongly opposed this move, accusing the ruling party of politicising the education system.
During the committee’s general meeting on Monday, opposition member Rakesh Hirpara protested against the distribution of these notebooks, questioning, “What contribution have these leaders made to education?” In response, the ruling party defended the decision, calling the featured leaders “sources of inspiration” and asserting, “This is BJP-ruled. Things will not proceed as the opposition demands. What we decide will be implemented.”
The opposition argued, “These leaders may be your inspiration, but they have no direct contribution to education. If education is the focus, the photo should be of Gujarat’s education minister, or great leaders like Gandhi or Dr. Ambedkar.”
Ruling party members, unable to provide a satisfactory answer, responded aggressively. They said, “This is BJP-ruled; it won’t run according to the opposition’s wishes. What we say, will happen.” The opposition called this an example of political interference in education and publicly stated that having political leaders’ photos on notebook covers is inappropriate.