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‘The tragedy of India is…’: Rijiju's jibe at AAP over NYT article on Delhi model
In the news report titled "Our Children are worth it", published on the front page of its international edition dated August 18, the New York Times said the AAP government's "overhaul of public schools in India's capital has students clamouring to enroll."
In a veiled dig at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Union law minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday said that people in India who celebrate their story published in The New York Times trust foreign values. Rijiju, adding to an earlier Twitter clip of his address at the 18th All India Judicial Services Authorities Meet in Jaipur, argued that people taking great pride in speaking English is the “tragedy of India”. (Also Read | Is NYT story on AAP's education model a ‘paid article’? Newspaper responds)
“The tragedy of India is that many people take great pride in speaking English. These people celebrate when a film is nominated for an Oscar or their story is published in the New York Times. People of this mindset trust and give importance to foreign values,” the Union minister wrote in Hindi.
Rijiju's tweet came a day after Delhi chief minister and AAP's national convener Arvind Kejriwal boasted about a positive story published on the front page of The New York Times which highlighted his government's achievement in the field of education. Kejriwal also linked the CBI raids on his deputy Manish Sisodia's residence to the front page report in The New York Times, saying it was intended to create obstacles for the Aam Aadmi Party's 'Make India Number 1' mission.
"There is no need to panic... The CBI has been asked from above to harass us," he said, pointing out that the raids came on a day the NYT published an article praising the Delhi education model.
"Delhi has made India proud. The Delhi model is on the front page of the biggest newspaper of the US. Manish Sisodia is the best education minister of independent India," he said in the video.
"In a way, he has been declared the best education minister in the world."
CBI raid at Sisodia's residence
On Friday, the Central Bureau of Investigation raided the home of Sisodia and 30 other locations in connection with alleged corruption in the implementation of the Delhi Excise Policy.
The CBI registered an FIR for alleged corruption and bribery formulation and execution of the Delhi Excise Policy brought out last November.
Speaking to reporters after the raid, Sisodia said, "The CBI team reached in the morning and searched the whole house. My family and myself extended them full cooperation. They seized my computer and mobile phone. They also took away some files."
