BHOPAL, June 24: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) isn't amused by a joke mentioning Lord Ram in a State Council for Educational Research and Training (SCERT) book for Class III students.

Several BJP MLAs have dashed off angry letters to Chief Minister Digvijay Singh, currently on a tour of the United Kingdom, decrying the ``tendency to drag the holy name of Ram in everything, designed to hurt religious sentiments''.

Coming at the end of a chapter on page 27 of the book, the joke goes something like this:

Ramesh: Maa, Ram to sanwale (dark) the na.

Maa: Haan beta.

Ramesh: To phir tum ``Hare (green) Ram'' kyon kahti ho?

The SCERT thought it was innocuous enough. The council, along with a Non Government Organisation (NGO) Eklavya, is involved in the production of Bharti I for Class III students and this year, the two decided to put jokes at the end of the chapters in the book - a la Reader's Digest - as a novel scheme to retain students' interest.

As it happens, they seem to have attracted too much of it. The BJP's Vikram Verma, also the Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly, has taken objection to ``the so-called progressiveness of organisations like Eklavya, who in their misplaced enthusiasm break every limit of decency''.

An office-bearer of the NGO, who claimed to be in charge of the centre here, however, denied the organisation had anything to do with Bharti I, though he said some of its members may have individually contributed to it.

But this claim is belied by the very first page of the book, in which SCERT Director Rashmi Sharma expresses her gratefulness to Eklavya for its contribution to their ``joint effort''.

Verma's party colleague and former chief minister Sunderlal Patwa has said the matter will be discussed at a BJP forum and would definitely become an issue in the coming monsoon session.

What has further infuriated the party is the SCERT's decision to do away with the practice of printing the national anthem and national song on the inside covers of books meant for students from classes I to XII.

On this issue at least, State School Education Minister Mukesh Nayak has decided to write to the Secondary Education Board for its ``criminal neglect'' of not publishing the national anthem and national song. Nayak, incidentally, is already facing an inquiry by the Lok Ayukta in another matter related to the publishing of books by the SCERT.

The issue has also brought into focus the role of Eklavya in the preparation of school books. Some senior teachers have criticised the Hoshangabad-based NGO for its ``foolhardy experiments'' to make text books more interesting.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.