Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who is in Delhi to discuss with Congress high command on the expansion of Cabinet, on Thursday said the state government has no intention to change the name of Morarji Desai Residential Schools as Indira Gandhi Residential Schools.
“The state government wants to name the newly established residential schools after Indira Gandhi. The government has no intention to change the name of existing residential schools,’’ Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said in a release from Delhi.
Coming down heavily on BJP state president B.S. Yeddyurappa, the chief minister has said Yeddyurappa did not know who was responsible in naming residential schools for rural students after Morarji Desai. “It is me who named the residential schools for rural children after Morarji Desai when I was the minister for finance in 1994-95,’’ the chief minister said.
The state government, through a notification issued recently, has decided to rename about 100 Morarji Desai Residential Schools for rural students and call them Smt Indira Gandhi Residential Schools.
The government has selected about 100 Morarji Desai Schools of which 66 are for scheduled caste, 24 for schedule tribes and 10 for backward classes to be renamed as Smt Indira Gandhi Residential Schools.
It is believed that this change in name is based on a request made by the Managing Director, Karnataka Residential Education Institutions Society.
“We have opened 125 residential schools on the occasion of Dr B.R. Ambedkar’s 125th birth anniversary. These schools were named after Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. We are planning to open 100 residential schools on the occasion of Smt Indira Gandhi’s 100th birth anniversary and name these schools after Smt Indira Gandhi. We have opened schools in the name of Devaraj Urs too,’’ the chief minister said.
He also made it clear that there was no proposal before the government on denotifying lakes in the state.
“The State Cabinet had discussed about the dry lakes that were encroached or converted to developmental activities. There was no proposal to denotify a single lake in the state,’’ he said.
Meanwhile, BJP state president B.S. Yeddyurappa has threatened to launch a massive agitation if Morarji Desai Residential Schools are renamed as Smt. Indira Gandhi Residential Schools.
“I want the government to withdraw its order on re-naming Morarji Desai Residential Schools as Smt Indira Gandhi Residential Schools. The government should not change the names of schools named after Moraji Desai and Kittur Rani Channamma,’’ Yeddyurappa said.
Reacting on Siddaramaiah’s allegations against BJP leaders on corruption charges, Yeddyurappa said that Siddaramaiah has become an arrogant and the BJP would teach him a lesson in the near future.
“Were there no allegations against Siddaramaiah’s son? What about the allegations against Minister Mahadevappa’s son? I demand Energy Minister D.K. Shivakumar to submit his resignation immediately. We are planning to stage dharna with 25,000 people demanding his resignation on Friday,’’ Yeddyurappa said.
