Manish Sisodia alleges BJP using old news clips to malign Delhi govt schools

Sisodia’s comments were aimed at social media posts by state minister Sidharth Nath Singh, who had shared news clips on Thursday saying, “Before participating in a debate, correct the problems in Delhi schools Mr Manish Sisodia. This is Mr Arvind Kejriwal’s second term as a chief minister.”

Delhi’s deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on Friday criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) saying that the party’s leaders in Uttar Pradesh have still not spoken to him in detail about an open debate. He also called out some social media posts, saying BJP leaders have used edited images of old news clips to show the “plight” of government schools in the Capital.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal along with deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia after a special assembly session on Centre's new farm laws in New Delhi on Thursday. (PTI Photo)

Sisodia’s comments were aimed at social media posts by state minister Sidharth Nath Singh, who had shared news clips on Thursday saying, “Before participating in a debate, correct the problems in Delhi schools Mr Manish Sisodia. This is Mr Arvind Kejriwal’s second term as a chief minister.”

Sisodia said in a video press briefing on Friday, “Instead of running away from the open debate challenge, commit to the time and location of the debate in Lucknow for December 22. (Delhi CM) Arvind Kejriwal’s education model is based on truth and honesty. It cannot be challenged through falsehood and lies.”

“There will be an open debate on the Yogi [Adityanath] model versus the Kejriwal model of education in Lucknow on December 22. It will be a healthy and meaningful debate for our democracy with crores of children of UP and the country benefiting from it. The UP minister should name ten schools improved by them in the last four years. I will share a list of a thousand schools in Delhi,” Sisodia said.

A day after Aam Aadmi Party chief and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal announced that the party would contest the 2022 assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Sisodia and other AAP leaders locked horns with Singh and Uttar Pradesh’s basic education minister Satish Chandra Dwivedi on issues ranging from Covid-19 management to education system.

Responding to the allegations, Singh said, “It took the Delhi government four years to change the face of the schools, which I have tweeted. They must understand that we have 1.58 lakh government schools in Uttar Pradesh, as compared to Delhi’s 1,000+ schools.”

On the issue of the debate, Singh said, “Let Manish Sisodia answer the series of questions I have asked in my press conference like the total number of Covid-19 tests they have done. You cannot compare Delhi’s 1.75 crore population with UP’s 23 crore.”