LUCKNOW, May 10 -- After objecting to the poem "Johnny, Johnny! Yes Papa? Eating sugar? No papa" earlier in the week, Uttar Pradesh higher education minister Yogendra Upadhyaya has now turned everyone's attention to yet another nursery rhyme-"Rain, rain, go away, little Johnny wants to play"-and claimed "it is not our culture."

"My objection is with this line-rain, rain, go away, little Johnny wants to play," he said at an event in Lucknow on Saturday.

The minister said this line signifies 'Swantah Sukhaya,' which means it is for the sake of one's own gratification or contentment.

"An act performed selflessly-transcending self-interest-yields joy wherein the poem indicates that rain must go away because little Johnny wants to play," he...