Holiday row likely typo: Goa CM

On the Goa government’s scrapping of Gandhi Jayanti from the list of public holidays, The RSS said the number of holidays in the country should come down for improved work culture. “I don’t know the reasons for this decision. We will see why it happened. But, according to a survey, people in India hardly work for 150-155 days a year on account of holidays. Their number must come down for better work culture,” RSS general secretary Suresh Joshi said in Nagpur.

Seeking to douse the angry reactions, Goa chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar said, “It could be a typing mistake. It is not an intentional mistake.”

Gandhi Jayanti has been celebrated all over the country for decades, with the entire nation gratefully recalling the services of the Mahatma, who led the struggle against the British rule through non-violent means.

The list has retained all other holidays. Independent Opposition legislator Vijay Sardesai said, “Is this nationalism or the BJP’s sense of civility ”

Condemning the decision, Goa’s lone Rajya Sabha member Shantaram Naik said the BJP leaders claim they hold Gandhi in high-esteem and started worshipping him in recent times, but actually denigrate him on every available opportunity.

Mr Naik alleged that in the name of Swachchh Bharat, the BJP perhaps wants to obliterate the name of Gandhi in whatever form it exists, adding that he would raise the issue in Rajya Sabha on Monday.

When Manohar Parrikar was the chief minister of Goa, the government had sought to scrap a few public holidays, including Gandhi Jayanti, Good Friday and Old Goa Feast, but had to give up the move due to public outcry.

Meanwhile, asked about the row, Union minister Prakash Javadekar said the party will take a stand after hearing the position taken by the state government.

Meanwhile, a release issued by the directorate of information and publicity in Panaji, clarified “Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti holiday (October 2, 2015) has not been cancelled.”