Rajasthan changes colour of school uniforms set by previous BJP government in 2017
Back then, Congress had said that the light and dark brown dress of students resembled outfits worn by Rashtirya Swayamsevak Sangh members.
The Congress-led Rajasthan government has ordered government schools in the state to change the colour of uniforms for students, The Indian Express reported on Friday. Currently, boys wear light brown shirt with brown trousers or shorts while girls pair it with brown salwar or skirt.
According to the government order issued on Wednesday, the current light and dark brown colours of the uniform will be switched to surf blue and dark grey. The order will be applicable from the next academic year.
The current uniform was introduced by the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2017. Back then, the Congress had said that the dress resembled the outfit worn by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh members.
Before the BJP government introduced the new uniform, blue, white and khaki were the preferred colours for school uniforms for two decades, the Hindustan Times reported.
Rajasthan Education Minister BD Kalla said that there was no political motive behind changing the colour of the uniform, The Indian Express reported.
“It is the BJP who did politics over the uniform, distributed saffron colour cycles to students, imposed the colour of their party flag,” he said. “Blue and grey, the new colours of the uniform, have nothing to do with politics.”
State Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasara said that the decision to change the colours was taken by a six-member panel, according to the Hindustan Times.
“The committee considered complaints from parents and school teachers about the uniform introduced during the BJP government in 2017 and recommended a change,” he added.
Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Vasudev Devnani said that the Congress’ decision to change the colours had no reason or logic. “It’s done only to change what the previous BJP government had done,” he said. “This is an autocratic decision.”