Rajasthan letterheads to have Deendayal photo

Rajasthan became the first state to have Jan Sangh founder Pt Deendayal Upadhyay's photograph on all government letterheads, alongside the national emblem.

The order signed by P K Goyal, principal secretary, general administration department, made it mandatory for all government departments to print a picture of Pt Deendayal Upadhyay on letterheads. The order dated Dec 12, 2017 also made it mandatory to paste stickers of Deendayal on existing letterheads until new ones are printed.

The Opposition Congress sees this cosmetic change as an attempt to propagate the ideology of Hindutva. Speaking to DH, Congress chief Sachin Pilot said, "Deendayal Upadhyay is only a party leader for BJP. He is not a former prime minister or president. It is completely unacceptable to have his photograph on official letterheads."

Deendayal Upadhyaya, an RSS pracharak, thinker and leader of
Bharatiya Jana Sangh, also finds a mention in major government policies. Earlier, government school libraries in Rajasthan were asked to buy complete volumes on his biography and works. The order ran into trouble as the volume cost Rs 6,000, almost four times the annual budget sanctioned for a school to buy books. The Opposition termed it a multi-crore scam and another effort to saffronise education.