New Delhi, July 16 (IANS) The BJP, along with Hindu saints, on Thursday strongly reacted after a Class 2 student of a private school in Hyderabad was asked by a teacher to recite the ‘Kalma’, calling it a “backdoor conversion of Hindu students” and urging people to keep children away from exposure to religious issues.

Following the incident in Hyderabad’s Saidabad area, the school management terminated the services of the teacher.

The Class 2 student was reportedly assigned the task as a homework activity in his school diary, the pictures of which are widely circulated on social media. As the parents learnt about the alleged attempt by the teacher to memorise Islamic religious texts, they took up the matter with school authorities and confronted the management. They expressed deep anger and questioned the inappropriate conduct of the school, questioning the attempts to vitiate the academic environment for children.

Speaking to IANS, BJP leader T.R. Sriniwas referred to the incident as “backdoor conversion of Hindu students”.

“A private educational institute in Saidabad asked a non-Muslim student to memorise the Holy Quran’s Surah Al-Fatiha and the Kalma. I really wonder what is going on in Hyderabad. Are we trying to turn a blind eye to this conversion?” he asked.

Questioning Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, he said: “What is the Chief Minister of Telangana doing? Is this the definition of secularism here – trying to convert Hindu students, trying to convert non-Muslim students?”

Seeking a thorough probe into the incident, Sriniwas said: “I demand a thorough investigation by the Police Commissioner. The Education Chief Secretary and the Education Minister have to come out and give a statement here. Is the covert agenda of the Congress being implemented here? This is objectionable, and the Telangana BJP demands an explanation.”

BJP spokesperson Mahesh Naamani said that whatever happened is “not fair for the students because it is a breach of trust on the part of the school”. “Students should not be exposed to religious issues in an academic environment,” he asserted.

The BJP leader also demanded a thorough inquiry and strict action against those responsible from the school management.

Moreover, he asked the Congress and its INDIA bloc allies not to do “vote bank politics” over the incident.

Several Hindu seers also strongly condemned the incident.

Mahamandaleshwar Vishnu Das alleged: “There are some radical elements in Hyderabad who are trying to convert Hindu children to Islam. Their objective is to increase the Muslim population in India. They target Hindu children, ask them to write in Urdu, recite the Kalma, and memorise it. This is their goal.”

Seer Sitaram Das called the incident a “conspiracy to convert Sanatani children”. “It is extremely condemnable; such incidents won’t be tolerated,” he told IANS.

–IANS

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