KOCHI: BJP state president V Muraleedharan on Thursday came down heavily on Congress MPs from the state for targeting the Union HRD Ministry over the observance of Good Governance Day in Navodaya schools on December 25.

Addressing a press conference here, he said that it was during Rajiv Gandhi’s tenure as Prime Minister that it was stipulated by the Union HRD Ministry under P V Narasimha Rao that all festivals should be celebrated by Navodaya students at schools itself.

“The circular issued on April 13, 1987 reads thus: All festivals should be celebrated in the vidyalaya only and children should not be permitted to visit the homes during the festival days,” Muraleedharan said adding that this was made applicable to Navodaya schools as they were residential schools.

“Congress MPs including K C Venugopal are playing cheap vote bank politics and if they are true to their conscience they should blame the Rajiv Gandhi Government for what has happened and not Narendra Modi. This is an order which is in existence for the past 27 years,” he said.

He also added that there was no order to CBSE to schools and Kendriya Vidyalayas to remain open on December 25.

“Congress should tender apology for creating such a controversy,” he added.

In response to a question, he said that the party has not yet decided on welcoming K B Ganesh Kumar to its fold. “Party leader C K Padmanabhan only welcomed his stand against corruption. I can’t confirm whether we are ready to accept him to our fold,” he said.

To another question, he said that O Rajagopal was the chief ministerial candidate of the party and not mayoral candidate in Thiruvananthapuram.

The BJP president said already 1.42 lakh members have joined the party even before the launch of the membership campaign of the party.

“The party has decided to contest all the local body seats in the state in the coming elections,” he said adding the party was focused on expanding its base rather than looking for allies to form a front.