Bengal to open 1,000 RSS-run schools in a year, says CM Suvendu Adhikari
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West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has announced a plan to establish at least 1,000 schools run by the RSS-affiliated Vidya Bharati across the state within a year, with institutions to be set up in every district, municipality and panchayat.
Speaking at an event in Kolkata to mark the 74th anniversary of Vidya Bharati, Adhikari said the state currently has 313 such schools and urged the organisation to expand its presence, particularly in Murshidabad and South 24 Parganas, alleging that “more anti-national activities take place” in those districts. He accused the previous Trinamool Congress government of “polluting” educational institutions and called on Vidya Bharati to take responsibility for imparting “nationalistic learning”.
The chief minister also warned that government aid would be withdrawn from schools that refused to sing the full version of Vande Mataram during prayers. “A few people had objected to singing the complete rendition of Vande Mataram. I told them that government aid would stop,” he said, adding that some institutions later complied only partially — standing up but not moving their lips. “Then I told them that lips must move as well,” he added.
Adhikari said the directive applied to all schools — government, aided, private and madrasas — and linked the push to broader reforms aimed at restoring “Indian culture, traditions and nationalist values” in education. He also invoked Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Shyama Prasad Mookerjee’s slogan of “One Nation, One Constitution, One Flag, One Leader”, saying it should be applied to the education department as well.
The chief minister further proposed merging all education departments, including the minority affairs department that manages Aliah University, into a single body. He questioned why the minority affairs department had sent him a separate file with the names of 27 Muslim toppers after he had already felicitated 20 students, including Muslims, Jains and Buddhists.