Row over K'taka move to colour code 'Viveka' school classrooms

Bengaluru: A controversy has broken out over the Karnataka government's move to paint thousands of school classrooms constructed under the 'Viveka' scheme in saffron colour with Senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah remarking that it is not BJP money which is being used but public money.

''Have people asked for saffronisation or have they got the mandate to do so? Have they (BJP) got a mandate for tampering with history?," the Congress leader wondered. The government has proposed construction of 7,601 classrooms across the state under the new government classrooms scheme named after Swami Vivekananda.

Bommai launched the scheme on Children's Day by laying the foundation stone at Government Higher Primary School at Madiyal in Kalaburgi.  Reacting to Congress criticism, the CM said: "Why do people turn red on hearing saffron? There's saffron colour in the (national) tricolour.

Swami Vivekananda himself used to wear a saffron robe." School Education Minister B C Nagesh said if architects recommend that saffron colour looks good on such classrooms, it will be done