ROOPNAGAR, Dec 2: Punjab Food and Supplies Minister Madan Mohan Mittal leaves no opportunity to boast about the series of nuclear tests which were triggered off by the BJP-led government at Pokhran in Rajasthan.Whether it is a political conference or a school function, Mittal makes it a point to laud efforts of the team of scientists engaged in the country's nuclear programme. At a recent annual sports meet of the Shivalik Public School here, Mittal justified the blasts in his speech saying that the nuclear programme was not based on technology acquired from outside.``The Third World War is not possible now only because India has become a nuclear power,'' he said.A few days earlier, Mittal appreciated the work of the scientists engaged in the nuclear programme while addressing a gathering at Chakwal Senior Secondary School in Kurali.Although Mittal does not want to attach any political significance to the contents of his speech, observers here feel that his views reflect the BJP's disillusionment with a section of Akali leaders, who have ``half-heartedly'' accepted the ``national victory.'' It is also being perceived as a move to `saffronise' the ideology of school children, though Mittal vehemently denies this.Speaking to ENS, Mittal emphasised the need for security from external threat. For him, the concept of `shakti' (power) needs to be shared with the younger generation. ``Rulers from outside the country have been oppressing us for years. It is time to shed these fears now,'' he added.Mittal justified including the Ayodhya episode in school books at Sarvhitkari Vidya Mandirs, which are being run by RSS sympathisers. ``Ayodhya is a place of pride for us,'' he said adding that the distorted history should not be presented to pupils. Accusing the British rulers of distorting Indian history, he sought to clarify that the Aryans were Indians by origin.Reacting to the charge of `saffronising' the education system by the Left parties, he said: ``We are encouraging nationalism, which was never accepted by the communists''.He did not agree that the Akali Dal ministers were opposed to Saraswati Vandana and the proposed change in the education system. On being reminded that the Punjab Education Minister Tota Singh and Higher Education Minister Manjit Singh Calcutta had walked out of a ministerial conference in Delhi, he said: ``They had committed a mistake, which they have now realised''.
