Kharge writes to Prez Murmu against ‘privatisation’ of Sainik schools

PTI, Apr 10, 2024, 8:30 PM IST

Image source: PTI / File

New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday wrote to President Droupadi Murmu against the Centre’s move to ”privatise” Sainik schools in the country and demanded a complete rollback of the policy and annulment of MoUs signed in this regard.

In a two-page letter to the President, Kharge said Indian democracy has conventionally kept armed forces away from any partisan politics, but the central government has ”broken” this well-enshrined convention.

”Having undermined institutions after institutions, in the grand plan of RSS to hurriedly thrust its ideology, they have dealt a body blow to the very nature and ethos of the Armed Forces. Imparting ideologically slanted knowledge in such institutions shall not only destroy inclusiveness but also damage the national character of the Sainik Schools, by influencing their character through partisan religious/corporate/family/social/cultural credos.

”Therefore, in national interest, the Indian National Congress demands the complete rollback of this privatisation policy and annulment of these MoUs, so that children studying at Armed Forces Schools retain desired character, vision and honour required for the service of the nation,” Kharge wrote.

Kharge brought to President Murmu’s notice an investigative report based on an RTI reply, which claimed that Sainik Schools are being privatised using a new PPP model introduced by the government, and ”now 62 percent of these schools are said to be owned by the BJP-RSS leaders”.

Kharge said there are 33 Sainik Schools in the country and they were fully government funded institutions operated under the aegis of Sainik Schools Society (SSS), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Defence (MoD).