A day after receiving a major embarrassment in the Supreme Court, the Andhra Pradesh government seems to have not learnt any lesson.
Taking a defiant stand, the Jagan government had again knocked the doors of the apex court on Thursday to challenge the Andhra Pradesh High Court’s verdict on April 15 scrapping the GO issued to make English compulsory in government schools in Andhra Pradesh.
In its petition in the Supreme Court, the Andhra Pradesh government had argued that 80% of parents showed inclination for English education to be imparted to their children and accordingly the government was working towards implementing the same. However, the High Court had scrapped its GOs (81 and 85) thereby throwing a spanner in the government’s move to implement English education compulsory in government schools, the Jagan sarkar had contended in the Supreme Court.
In its order, the High Court had observed that the GO is against the Constitution, several judgements of the Supreme Court and the Right to Education Act and that parents’ cannot decide in which language children should be taught.
On Wednesday, the Andhra Pradesh government had received a big blow after the SC had it to remove the ruling YSRCP colours from government buildings within four weeks, warning that it would attract contempt in case of failure to comply with the order. The Andhra Pradesh government had spent taxpayers money of nearly ₹3,000 crore to paint the panchayat offices and government buildings in the YSR Congress colours of white, blue and green. TDP president and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu demanded recovering the painting costs of ₹3,000 crore from the ruling YSRCP. Chief Secretary Nilam Sawhney and other top officials had to cut a sorry face in the High Court after it had issued contempt notices.
It remains to be seen if the Andhra Pradesh government will face rebuke from the SC yet again in the English medium case.