Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and AAP leader Manish Sisodia hit out at the BJP alleging that it was a "party of illiterates" that wanted to keep the country "illiterate" as well, as the war of words between the two parties continued on Saturday.
Sisodia's comments come amid reports that Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena is seeking a report from the chief secretary over the "delay" in action on a Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) report on the construction of classrooms in Delhi government schools.
"The BJP has left the liquor issue now and moved to the issue of corruption in schools. They raided CM's office, then mine four years back. They registered cases against 40 MLAs but didn't find anything. Then sent CBI to my house in a fake excise policy case, realised they will not find anything. So they've started something new now, on the schools built," Sisodia said at a press conference.
Sisodia claimed that the schools built by the Delhi government are better than "several private schools" in the city. Slamming the BJP, he said that it is a party of "illiterates" and "wants to keep the country illiterate".
The Centre's ruling BJP and Delhi's AAP have clashed on a range of issues in the recent past. The BJP has alleged corruption in the implementation of Delhi government policies and projects. The AAP has claimed that the allegations are motivated by political vendetta.
"Delhi government schools are way beyond several private schools. This (BJP) is a party of illiterates and wants to keep the country illiterate. In their own states, they've shut down several government schools," Sisodia said in his latest attack on the BJP.
Sisodia sought an investigation into the reasons behind the closure of government schools. "They should investigate why so many government schools under BJP rule have shut," he said.
Claiming that over 72,000 schools were shut in the BJP-ruled states between 2015 and 2021, Sisodia alleged that BJP MLAs had constructed private schools in their areas. "Between 2015 and 2021, over 72,000 schools were shut. Over 51,000 were shut in 2018-19. Private schools are thriving in areas while they're (BJP) shutting government schools. Those private schools have been built by their own MLAs. Almost 12,000 private schools have been opened," he alleged.
According to repots, Delhi LG V K Saxena has sought a report from the Chief Secretary over the delay of 2.5 years on part of the Vigilance Department in acting on the CVC inquiry report into the construction of additional classrooms in Delhi Government Schools. The report, which found gross irregularities and procedural lapses in the execution of the projects, was sent by CVC to the Secretary, Vigilance, GNCTD on February 17, 2020, seeking comments for further investigation/action.
( With inputs from ANI )
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