Kerala BJP seeks Central protection for Pala Bishop
The Hindu
The prelate had come under the spotlight for his “cautionary sermon” on radical Islamists “using narcotic drugs” to corrupt Catholic and non-Muslim youth.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has sought Central protection for Mar Joseph Kallarangatt, Bishop of Pala. The prelate had come under the spotlight for his “cautionary sermon” on radical Islamists “using narcotic drugs” to corrupt Catholic and non-Muslim youth. In a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP State general secretary George Kurian said the metropolitan had earned the ire of the ruling front and the Opposition for speaking out the truth and voicing the growing insecurity among Christians and Hindus about the rise of radical Islam in Kerala.Several principals of government and private schools in Delhi on Tuesday said the Directorate of Education (DoE) circular from a day earlier, directing schools to conduct classes in ‘hybrid’ mode, had caused confusion regarding day-to-day operations as they did not know how many students would return to school from Wednesday and how would teachers instruct in two modes — online and in person — at once. The DoE circular on Monday had also stated that the option to “exercise online mode of education, wherever available, shall vest with the students and their guardians”. Several schoolteachers also expressed confusion regarding the DoE order. A government schoolteacher said he was unsure of how to cope with the resumption of physical classes, given that the order directing government offices to ensure that 50% of the employees work from home is still in place. On Monday, the Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) had, on the orders of the Supreme Court, directed schools in Delhi-NCR to shift classes to the hybrid mode, following which the DoE had issued the circular. The court had urged the Centre’s pollution watchdog to consider restarting physical classes due to many students missing out on the mid-day meals and lacking the necessary means to attend classes online. The CAQM had, on November 20, asked schools in Delhi-NCR to shift to the online mode of teaching.