What former Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry Smriti Irani did not do in her two years' tenure as the minister, Prakash Javadekar did within a week after assuming office.

In a public meeting on the new education policy (NEP), organised by the Bharatiya Shiksha Mandal – an education body attached to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological mentor of the ruling BJP – Javadekar endorsed the idea mooted by the Sangh and has sought suggestions on the draft policy.

Javadekar has welcomed the suggestions on value education and has endorsed the idea of the ancestral guru-shishya (teacher-student) tradition. He also hinted that all the good and constructive suggestions will find a place in the NEP.

The minister, who himself has been associated with the RSS, however, was quick to add that education is the prerogative of the nation and should not be associated with any political ideology. Trying to portray himself as the minister of the country and not of any section alone, Javadekar said, "Education should be inclusive and above party politics."

The minister also insisted that he was open to meeting people cutting across party and ideological affiliations to formulate the policy. "I am open to all good suggestions and will attend to every stakeholder. There is going to be no pick and choose," he said.

The seminar on the new education policy was scheduled before the cabinet rejig. "Former MoS for higher education, Ram Shankar Katherai, was scheduled to attend the meeting. But Javadekar acknowledged our request to be a part of the meeting," said Murlidhar Rao, national general secretary of the BJP.

Bharatiya Shiksha Mandal has been proactive in formulating the new education policy and had held nationwide consultations and has sent over 1.5 lakh suggestions to the ministry. However, despite attempts by several RSS associates, Irani during her tenure never shared public spaces with these organisations in the capital. Her meetings with the Sangh had always been behind closed doors and she remained inaccessible to most of these academicians.

On the contrary, this was Javadekar's second such meeting in less than one week after taking over as the HRD minister. Taking the teacher-student relationship to the next level, the minister had last week visited Fergusson College in Pune and felicitated the teachers by organising 'Guru Pranaam'.

The NEP draft summary will be on public domain till July 30 for inviting suggestions.