Atishi’s speech at Cambridge raises Opposition hackles in Delhi
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said Atishi must reveal the source of the data that she quoted in her speech, and added that in her opposition to the BJP, she has begun opposing India
A political row erupted in the Capital after Delhi’s education minister Atishi mentioned India’s performance on the Human Development Index and raised income disparity in the country in her speech at a conference on role of education in India’s development at UK’s Cambridge University.
In her speech on the topic, “Education- Building India’s Future at 100”, during a conference hosted by Cambridge Judge Business School on Thursday, the Delhi minister spoke about the importance of quality school education, adding that while there was a narrative about India’s “trillion-dollar” and “fastest-growing” economy, the ground realities cannot be ignored.
“India ranks 132 among 191 nations on the Human Development Index of UNDP, behind its neighbours such as Bhutan and Bangladesh. All 140 crore people in the country do not have access to education, health care, nutrition, or employment. The richest 1% of the country owns 40% of India’s wealth, while the bottom 50% of the population owns only 3%. Thus, while the GDP may be growing, it is primarily benefiting the richest, while the majority of the population suffers,” Atishi said, according to a statement by the Delhi government.
The speech, which also touched upon the success of the Delhi government’s school education model, led to a sharp response from the Bharatiya Janata Party. which accused the Aam Aadmi Party leader of “defaming India”.
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said the Delhi minister must reveal the source of the data that she quoted in her speech, and added that in her opposition to the BJP, the AAP leader has begun opposing India.
“Leaders of the AAP, who call themselves staunch patriots, leave no stone unturned to embarrass the country. These people shamelessly defame the country when they visit foreign countries. Atishi will not be forgiven by the country, specially by the people of Delhi,” Sachdeva said.
Atishi also spoke about hunger and poverty in the country. “Another figure is the number of hungry people in the country, which grew from 19 crore to 35 crore. This is alarming considering that India is the second-largest food producer in the world. Despite this, it has the largest number of malnourished or undernourished people,” she said, according to the Delhi government statement.
Sachdeva said that the country wants to know from where Atishi got “this figure of 35 crore hungry people”. He said that the central government provided free ration to 80 crore (800 million) people during the coronavirus pandemic, and the distribution was continuing.
Talking about the performance of the AAP government in Delhi, Atishi said, “The work done by the AAP government in Delhi is landmark in Indian politics because the party has made education a political issue... one which also brings dividends. This has made other state governments consider working on education and improving schools. I believe this change will determine the future direction our country takes.”
