Bhopal: Ujjain collector Roshan Singh’s order declaring six consecutive Mondays between 14 July and 11 August as holidays in all schools because of the Mahakal procession has kicked up a political storm with Congress MLA Arif Masood describing it as a move to appease Chief Minister Mohan Yadav.
The 7 July order comes ahead of the month of Shravan, when a large number of devotees hold processions across the city starting from the Mahakal temple in Ujjain, Yadav’s home district. The Mahakal temple is one of the 12 jyotirlingas in the country, considered the revered abodes of Lord Shiva.
The procession attracts thousands of devotees, including politicians such as Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and Chief Minister Mohan Yadav.
According to Ujjain’s district education officer Anand Sharma, the decision was taken in view of six processions being held this year.
While 18 August is a local holiday in Ujjain, the other five Mondays between 14 July and 11 August had to be declared holidays. Instead the district collector Roshan Singh has ordered that schools will function for five Sundays to make up for the lost academic time.
“For the past two years, we have been declaring holidays to avoid inconvenience to students and parents as roads are barricaded, creating traffic jams and challenges in movements of buses. Last year, only two additional holidays had to be declared as the remaining were already gazetted holidays. But since it’s not the case this time, the move have been implemented,” Sharma told ThePrint.
However, Masood, the Congress MLA from Bhopal (North), called the collector’s order an act of appeasement of Mohan Yadav.
“The procession of Lord Mahakal is taken out every year and all residents across Ujjain take part in it, but this is the first year when specific holidays had to be declared,” Masood told ThePrint.
“Instead, the collector wants the schools to function on Sundays, but will that not impact families with working employees, who only get to be together on weekends. What was the specific reason, other than to please Mohan Yadav at the cost of students and parents?”
The move also came under criticism from Manohar Giri, regional secretary of the State Employees Association. “Many working employees get Sundays off and asking schools to function on a holiday will put mental, financial and physical pressure,” Giri told the media.
However, BJP MLA Rameshwar Sharma defended the move, saying it would allow families to visit the procession with their entire family.
Sharma also slammed the Congress party on the issue. “The Congress is only busy feeding biryani to terrorists. Its people are busy sycophanting foreigners. I don’t know whether this Congress belongs to China or Pakistan… The collector has the authority to declare a government holiday based on public needs,” the Huzur legislator told the media.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
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