SP defends 8216;opposition8217; to English,computers

Samajwadi Party was at pains to underline that it was not against their use but that they should not be made compulsory.

Finding itself under attack from all quarters for its manifesto8217;s 8220;opposition8221; to English education and computers,the Samajwadi Party was on the backfoot on Sunday,at pains to underline that it was not against their use but that they should not be made compulsory.

8220;The SP is for a common education system that provides access to similar quality of education to all, irrespective of their caste,religion or income status. This means abolishing the dichotomy of expensive English-medium schools and affordable vernacular schools. This doesn8217;t mean the SP is against the English language,8221; SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav8217;s son Akhilesh told The Indian Express over phone from Lucknow.

Mulayam himself clarified that he was not against education in English,when it was pointed out that his son had studied in a convent school. But he insisted that it 8220;should not be compulsory in offices8221;,whether government or private. 8220;I am not against English but its use should not be a compulsion. It should not be compulsory in public life,8221; he said in Lucknow.

Criticising the manifesto,released by Mulayam in Lucknow on Saturday,the Congress and BJP accused the SP of dragging India into the Stone Age. Campaigning in Amethi,Priyanka called it a 8220;strange manifesto in the 21st century8221; and wondered whether the person who drafted it was serious.

SP general secretary Amar Singh said they were not opposing the use of computers,but that these should not lead to a loss of jobs. 8220;We have said that those who do not get equal opportunity should not have English as a compulsion. And computers should remain but should not replace human workforce,8221; Singh told reporters in Patna.

Elaborating,Akhilesh said: 8220;See,the SP8217;s argument is that the prevalence of English in education,administration and courts has been against the interest of the common man,and we still stand by it. How can one justify imposing English as the language of administration or of courts in UP,where a majority doesn8217;t know this language? It will never serve the desired purpose,everybody would agree. That8217;s what our argument is.8221;

On the SP8217;s reported stand against computers and machines,Akhilesh said his father8217;s stand was based on the reality of the state where traditional labour-intensive crafts like making of carpets and bangles,the bronze industry,handlooms etc provide employment. 8220;These are all labour-intensive industries,and these industries also need to be protected. This is the thrust of the SP chief8217;s statement and the SP will continue to protect these jobs8230; There is no opposition to computers per se.8221;

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8220;This doesn8217;t mean that we are against IT-based education and -industry or other industries. Other industries are very welcome,but not at the cost of these labour-intensive industries,8221; he said. Taking a dig at other parties,Akhilesh added: 8220;Even Gandhiji had said that what could be done through human labour should be done for employment generation.

While the BJP called the manifesto that 8220;of a party living in the 19th century while the youthful nation is aspiring and beckoning to lead the world in the 21st8221;,Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi asserted that 8220;a manifesto like this which seeks to drag India into the Stone Age must be condemned and rejected8221;.

Asked to comment on the SP manifesto while campaigning at a village in Amethi,Priyanka said: 8220;Rajivji did not have a narrow vision. They have a narrow viewpoint. If they think they would derive tangible benefit by ending computer education,they will need to do a rethink.8221;

With PTI