Minister 'educates students on jeans, sanskar'

Union Minister of State for HRD Satyapal Singh on Sunday made a controversial remark on jeans and culture at a function in the presence of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in the latter's hometown of Gorakhpur.

Addressing a gathering of students, Singh sought to teach them about "dressing" sense. "How will you (students) feel if your bride arrives in the mandap clad in jeans or if the priest of a temple wears jeans," Singh asked the students.

"Sanskar (culture) plays a crucial role in one's decision about dressing. The dress must be in tune with the occasion. One should be very careful about the choice of the dress,'' he added.

Praising ancient Indian culture, Singh said that along with the education the focus should also be on the all-round development of the students' personality.

He also sought to link the increasing number of suicides in the country with "lack of sanskar". ''Lack of sanskar is leading to more number of suicides," he said.

The Union minister heaped praise on Adityanath for ensuring that the Indian culture regained its past glory.

Adityanath, who also addressed the students, said that education must be able to inculcate nationalism in the students. He also said that necessary changes would be made in the syllabus in the state schools from the next academic session for this purpose.