VADODARA: The controversy over Congress workers burning copies of the cover page of the book by RSS ideologue Dinanath Batra introduced in the schools in the state refuses to die down for the second consecutive day here on Saturday. Even as the BJP demanded legal action and held an agitation, the city Congress president Narendra Ravat stood his ground defending himself.

The city unit of BJP held a demonstration at Gandhi Nagargruh and submitted a memorandum to the district administration. The BJP demanded that since the act involved burning of photographs of national leaders, the Congress workers should be booked for sedition. Besides local workers, state BJP general secretary Bharat Pandya was also present during the agitation.

Congress has opposed the introduction of the book by Batra stating that it saffronises education and promotes RSS ideology. As part of a state-wide agitation, the Congress on Friday burnt copies of the notification for introducing the books. Copies of the cover page of the book were also burnt, but a row was raked up as it came to light that the cover page had pictures of luminaries like Mahatma Gandhi, Swami Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore and others.

Addressing workers, Pandya said the Congress had presented a wrong and insulting history of the country so far. He added that when education was being Indianized, the Congress was burning pictures of national luminaries. He added that nothing can stall the task of inclusion of Indian thoughts and philosophy into the education system.

Ravat has remained unfazed and said that the BJP was diverting the issue. "The book cannot be endorsed just because it has pictures of great leaders on its cover page. Congress is opposed to this book as it is spreading anti-national ideologies. It is non-secular and has unconstitutional messages," he said.

Ravat added his party would continue to oppose the book. "We will burn copies of the book in the future too," he said.

