This one seems motivated by a desire to get votes. From Sify.com:
The BJP has strongly protested against the Mulayam Singh Yadav Government’s decision to cut short school hours on Fridays to allow Muslim students to offer Jumma ki namaz.
The move is being perceived as an effort to appease the Muslim votebank ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. According to a Government order issued on February 16 to all schools and colleges affiliated to the UP Board, the school hours would now be from 8 am to 12 pm on all Fridays.
Reacting strongly to the “absurd Government decision”, state BJP chief Vinay Katiyar, demanded that the Government order be withdrawn immediately.
“It smacks of the Government’s appeasement policy. Mulayam Singh Yadav is scared of his shifting mass base in the coming Lok Sabha polls. Hence he’s using such tactics to draw minority votes. Such a step will create a divide between Hindu and Muslim children in schools,” he said.
Katiyar further said the BJP would take to the streets to protest this decision. He argued: “In that case even the bhakts of Lord Shiva would demand a holiday on Monday and devotees of Lord Hanuman would demand a holiday on Tuesday.”
He said the party would stage an agitation in front of the Assembly. “The protest would continue till the Government withdraws the order,” he added.
The order issued by the Principal Secretary, Education, Neera Yadav on February 16, says that the State Government, after due consideration, has decided to change the school timings on Friday’s from 8 am to 12 pm.
The changed timing would be applicable to all aided, unaided, and Government-run primary schools, junior schools, high schools and intercolleges in the state. So far, school timings have been six hours — from 8 am to 2 pm or 10 am to 4 pm, Monday to Friday, with Saturday being a half day.
District Inspector of Schools Vikas Srivastava said the order would be implemented with immediate effect in the state Capital and students can look forward to the new timings from this Friday.