Lucknow: UP Governor and chancellor Anandiben Patel on Friday criticised the use of abusive language against the Prime Minister and Union ministers during the recent Jantar Mantar protest saying such conduct was inconsistent with the country’s educational and cultural values.“The Jantar Mantar protest was an eye-opener. Is this our education and culture? Abusing the Prime Minister and everyone else is not acceptable,” she said while addressing the convocation of Lucknow University.Recalling her tenure as Gujarat’s education minister in 1998, Patel said teacher protests were once a recurring feature during the Classes 10 and 12 board examination season, with educators threatening to boycott examinations and academic activities.She said govt held discussions with teachers and reviewed their 25-point charter of demands, accepting only five that were found to be justified.Patel said govt simultaneously enforced a strict “no work, no pay” policy and invoked the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA), warning teachers that those who failed to return to work by a specified deadline would face disciplinary action, including termination of service.Claiming the move had a lasting impact, Patel said Gujarat had not witnessed a single teachers’ protest since 1998.“After that incident, not only teachers but everyone working with govt understood that such methods would not work,” she said.Praising Prime Minister’s development agenda, the governor said nation-building should remain the focus of public life.“Our work is to take the country and the state forward. Earlier, people carried flags of protest; today they carry the flag of development,” she said.
