Union Human Resource and Development (HRD) Minister Smriti Irani on Monday rubbished reports about the government planning to celebrate 'Teachers Day' as 'Guru Utsav', saying a deliberate attempt is being made to distort certain facts.
She said 'Guru Utsav' is an essay competition being organized for students both past and present and will highlight the contribution of teachers in their lives.
"I will only say this that a deliberate attempt is being made to distort certain facts, 'Guru Utsav 2014' is an essay competition for all the students past and present as to how they celebrate the contribution of their teachers in their lives," said Irani.
Leaders of the DMK, PMK and MDMK had earlier demanded the withdrawal of the order to rename Teachers' Day as 'Guru Utsav.'
DMK supremo M Karunanidhi had slammed the Centre's move to celebrate Teachers' Day as 'Guru Utsav', and alleged that a conspiracy was being hatched to downgrade Tamil language and society by such a move.
Meanwhile, Irani said that the government is seriously consider addressing the gender related issues.
"One of the manifesto promises of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA government was that through our school curriculum within the teaching community and the students' community, one will sensitize individuals, citizens and students on issues of gender," she said.
