The Centre on Wednesday assured the Rajya Sabha that no State government can change the Gandhi Jayanti holiday. Replying to a Zero Hour mention about the absence of Gandhi Jayanti holiday in the Goa government calendar, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said: “It was a printing error which has been rectified”.
The issue was raised by Congress member Shantaram Naik who said that a similar attempt had been made in the past by a previous BJP-ruled State government to remove the holidays given on Christmas and Good Friday.
While presenting the government's reply, Mr. Naqvi found himself in a spot of bother when he said that it is of little consequence if a State government calendar mentions Gandhi Jayanti holiday since it is a national holiday. He quickly went on to add that the Goa government had made the correction.
While empathising with the Congress MP’s concern, Janata Dal (United) member Sharad Yadav added that Mahatma Gandhi was such a towering personality that nothing would diminish his stature in the world.
