File picture of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said his government has withdrawn the notification to introduce compulsory teachings of Hindu scripture Bhagawad Gita for young students in Islamic schools.
"A controversy has been generated about introduction of Bhagawad Gita lessons in school textbooks by the education department which is not correct. The notification that has created this controversy has been withdrawn by the government today," Mr Chouhan told reporters.
The Madhya Pradesh government's decision to introduce Bhagawad Gita even in the curriculum of Urdu schools from academic year 2013-14, had invited criticism from the Congress which accused the BJP government of diverting people's attention from overall "mis-governance".
In its latest notification issued on August 1, the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government had added one chapter each based on stories from the Bhagawad Gita in textbooks of General Hindi prescribed in Class III up to Class VIII for Special English and in Class I and Class II for Special Urdu, during this academic session.
Slamming the government move, the opposition Congress alleged today that the decision was taken at the behest of the RSS and is aimed at dividing society on communal lines to reap political mileage during elections.
Meanwhile, Muslim Personal Law Board member Arif Masood also welcomed the MP government move to withdraw the order, saying that the circular is against the spirit of the Constitution, which prohibits teaching about any particular religion.