At the annual programme of Vivekananda Vidya Vikas Parishad, West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari called for the expansion of Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS)-affiliated Vidya Bharati Vidya Mandir schools, saying he wanted 1,000 more such schools to be established within the next year. He also said West Bengal’s education system could otherwise have become similar to Bangladesh’s “Islamic education system” and spoke about the state’s implementation of the NEP. Adhikari said Vande Mataram had been made mandatory in schools, including institutions that had objected, and stated that those receiving government benefits would have to comply.