Kerala Governor, state spar again. This time over feet-washing ritual in schools
He further recounted a complaint he received from a religious leader about the police coming to a school run by his institution in Kasargod and asking about the guru puja celebration in the city. 'He said, 'what should we tell them? What do they mean by 'why perform'? It is our culture, the culture of our country, our soil. What answer can be given?'Governor Arlekar also questioned the rationale behind criticising the practice and said, 'If one tries to forget their culture, they will forget themselves and will be nowhere in this world.'Education Minister V Sivankutty rejected the Governor's stance, saying: 'They are making our small children wash their feet. I don't even know where in Indian culture is something like this said. There are many books related to Indian culture. Does any of it say that students should be used to wash the feet of BJP Leaders? Does any of it say that this is Kerala culture? It doesn't say anywhere.''It's the agenda of RSS which is coming out through the Governor,' the minister further stated.Sivankutty also asserted that Kerala does not follow such a culture and expressed concern over using children for such practices in educational settings.The state government has also asked the managements of the schools concerned to explain the circumstances under which the ritual was conducted.- Ends
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