Lucknow: Forget the old-fashioned ABC. In parts of Uttar Pradesh, it’s A for Akhilesh Yadav, B for “Baba Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar”, C for Chaudhary Charan Singh, D for Dimple Yadav, M for Mulayam Singh Yadav and “G” for gareeb (poor).
This “politicised alphabet” at “PDA pathshalas” launched by the opposition Samajwadi party (SP) now finds itself at the centre of a growing row between Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, with both launching sharp attacks at each other.
The chief minister called the “PDA pathshalas” an attempt to ruin the education system, accusing the SP of spreading propaganda through the PDA pathshalas and demolishing the “temples of education”.
Taking a jibe at the SP, Adityanath said at an event in Moradabad on Wednesday, “Late Kalyan Singh taught children ‘G for Ganpati’, but the SP government taught ‘G se gadha (donkey)’.”
The chief minister said the government was setting up centres of ultra-modern education under the National Education Policy.
As the Yogi administration booked over half a dozen SP leaders for “politicising” school campuses, Akhilesh Yadav said Thursday that his party would not stop the “PDA pathshalas”, named after the SP’s Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak slogan, saying they weren’t teaching anything wrong.
The controversy erupted when the Uttar Pradesh government announced the merger of primary schools with fewer than 50 students last month. The Samajwadi Party then launched its “PDA ki pathshala” initiative to support children who could no longer access education because of the government’s decision to merge primary schools.
Accusing the government of pushing OBC and Dalit children out of the education system, some SP leaders began gathering children and holding makeshift classes in vacant school premises under the “PDA ki pathshala” programme.
The issue flared up after a video from Saharanpur went viral Tuesday, allegedly showing SP leader Farhad Gaga teaching the “politicised alphabets” to children.
In the video, students were taught lines such as “A for Akhilesh”, “B for Babasaheb”, “D for Dimple” and “M for Mulayam Singh Yadav”. The incident led to an FIR being lodged against the SP leader.
The complainant against Gada alleged that the children being taught by the SP leader under the “PDA pathshala” programme were actually brought in from a private school and were seen wearing that school’s uniform.
Similarly, police in Lucknow Wednesday filed an FIR against SP spokesperson Pooja Shukla, who was actively running a “PDA ki pathshala” in Lucknow North area.
In another case in Mau, the education department filed a case against the Samajwadi Party’s student union district president, Akhilesh Bharti, accusing him of running a school without permission.
In a viral video, Bharti was seen wearing the Samajwadi Party’s red cap and teaching some school children under the “PDA ki pathshala” initiative, telling them that the English letter M stands for Mulayam.
After the video went viral, the basic education department came into action.
The department issued an order on 31 July warning that individuals holding unauthorised classes on government school premises could face strict action.
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‘PDA pathshalas to continue’
Amid a controversy surrounding the “PDA pathshalas”, Akhilesh Yadav said they would continue across the state as his party workers were not scared of police and that the chief minister should attend one to observe the conditions.
“For us, G is for gareeb, but for the BJP, G stands for gadha. That is why they are targeting us,” he said while speaking to the media outside Parliament on Thursday.
Earlier, the SP chief targeted the BJP government in Lucknow Tuesday, saying it was against education. “Those who are against education are the biggest mafia. The government is filing FIRs regarding education. If it thinks that it will close the PDA pathshalas and PDA tuitions with the help of police, it is its misconception,” he said.
“The SP workers have resolved that till the government does not send teachers and principals to the closed schools, the PDA pathshalas will continue,” Yadav said while speaking to the media.
Samajwadi Party spokesperson Pooja Shukla, named in one of the FIRs, defended the initiative. “Our sole intention was to provide quality education to underprivileged children who may be deprived of learning opportunities after the school mergers. Is teaching young children a crime in Yogi Raj?” she told ThePrint.
“We were teaching them sincerely, just like any regular teacher. There was no intention to misguide them. This government is ruining the future of small children,” she added.
In Sahranpur, Farhad Gada, also named in an FIR, told ThePrint that “PDA pathshala” initiative wasn’t just for teaching ABC, but it was also to educate children about the “great men of Samajwadi ideology”.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
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