Mamata Vs Centre: After 'Modicare', Now Bengal Says no to PM Modi's 'Pariksha Pe Charcha'

Kolkata: West Bengal government on Thursday refused to make arrangements for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Pariksha Pe Charcha' (discussion on examination) speech – which will be telecast on Doordarshan, All India Radio, all government websites, on February 16.

PM Modi, who has written a book for students on how to handle stress related to exams – will hold a personal interaction with nearly 3,000 students in the national capital on Friday.

On February 8, CBSE issued a circular to all affiliated schools to make 'necessary arrangements', including Television sets, radio sets, for students so that they can take part in PM Modi's speech on 'Pariksha Pe Charcha' in their respective schools.

Speaking exclusively to News18, State Education Minister Partha Chatterjee, said, "No we are not going to follow the CBSE circular. It is not mandatory that we have to follow such instructions or circular from the Centre."

He said, "Examinations are close by and students are busy in their studies. Not possible to follow the circular."

The CBSE Circular read: "With Class X and Class XII examinations round the corner, Hon'ble Prime Minister will interact with school students on 16th February 2018 with his initiative 'Pariksha Pe Charcha' wherein he will advise the students on how to deal with examination stress. The timing of the programme will be 10.30 PM to 12 Noon."

It further reads, "Students from Classes VI onwards of all the schools can view or hear the telecast/broadcast. It will be broadcast live by Doordarshan through DD National, DD News and DD India. It will aired live on radio channels (All India Radio Medium Wave, All India Radio FM Channel). It will also streamed live on websites of PMO, MHRD, Doordarshan, MyGov.in, YouTube of MHRD, Facebook Live. Prime Minister will answer questions of school students from Class IX and above. All schools are requested to make necessary arrangements in the school to enable the students to view/hear the speech."

This is not for the first time that the Bengal government has said no to Centre's proposal.

A month later, in October, Bengal opted out of 'Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat' programme launched by PM Modi to promote engagement amongst the people of States/UTs in the country so as to enhance mutual understanding and bonding between people of diverse cultures, thereby securing stronger unity and integrity of India.