Hyderabad: A headmistress of a school backed by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh alleged that she was suspended and underpaid by the school management for not donating money towards the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. The Delhi high court has issued a notice to the school on a plea filed by the headmistress.
According to the Times of India report, in the notice, the Delhi high court has asked the school to overturn the headmistress suspension and restore her job with full wage. In the plea filed before the Delhi court, the woman alleges that she was penalized for not being able to donate money for the temple project.
According to the plea the headmistress was given a target of February 2021, to collect or contribute Rs 70,000 for the purpose of construction of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. The staff of the school were asked to convince students or their parents to contribute or to visit the marketplace for donations from shopkeepers or the general public.
The plea alleged, the petitioner, being not the class teacher of any class, also not being in the position to contribute herself because of the poor financial health of her family, expressed her inability to contribute the amount of Rs 70,000 for the charitable purpose.
The plea filed by the petitioner further claimed that the Ram Mandir donation was in addition to the yearly donation amount in the name of Samarpan, which has been raised from Rs 5,000 to Rs 15,000. The headmistress has been coerced to contribute the said amounts of Rs 70,000 for Ram Mandir and Rs 15,000 for Samarpan, whereas, despite extreme financial constraints, the petitioner donated Rs 2,100 for Ram Mandir on March 3, and further refused to pay any amount for Samarpan this year.
An advocate of the petitioner Khagesh Jha informed the Delhi high court that the teacher’s husband met with a serious accident in 2016 and lost vision in one eye, multiple fractures and had to insert three rods in the leg during surgery and some neurological disorder, because of which he has been suffering from epileptic attacks occasionally. In such a condition, there is a huge financial burden on the family for his treatment, but still, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) backed Samarth Shiksha Samiti, which runs the school, coerced his client, Jha alleged.
The plea further claimed the teacher was being “falsely accused” of making casteist remarks by a few parents at the behest of the school. She was also accused of being “incompetent” despite having 20 years of experience, the plea added.
The high court has posted the plea for December 17 to hear the stand of the school and the society.