'Won't accept Centre's advice on Teachers' Day'

Kolkata: State Education minister Partha Chatterjee said on Saturday that the state will celebrate Teachers' Day on September 5 in its own way and will not accept the recommendations of the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) for holding national level painting and essay competition to promote the message of Swachhta on a massive scale.

"We are not too sure whether Narendra Modi's Swachh Bharat will be a reality. We have been celebrating Teachers' Day across the state in our own way and we will continue to do that. The MHRD directive is ludicrous. We will not impose anything upon the schools," state Education minister Partha Chatterjee said.Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will attend a programme to commemorate the occasion of Teachers' Day in Kolkata on September 5.

The notice by MHRD secretary Anil Swarup that has been sent to secretaries of all states including Bengal, states that the national level painting and essay competition aims to engage young minds in the Swachh Bharat Mission of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The theme for the essay competition is 'What will I do to make India Clean' and that of the drawing competition is 'Clean India of My Dreams'.

Only a few days back, the Mamata Banerjee-government had rejected the guidelines of the Centre on the celebration of Independence Day.

"Some BJP-cornered media misrepresenting facts. Don't mislead. In Bengal each one has the full freedom to celebrate 70 years of our freedom. All schools in Bengal are celebrating Independence Day as per their choice. in their own special way," Banerjee had tweeted.