AAP influencing voters through government school panels
The Aam Aadmi Party on Friday suspended a scheduled interactive session with parents of school children till further orders. The development came after the opposition BJP and Congress alleged that the Arvind Kejriwal government was influencing voters through management committees of Delhi government schools.
A BJP delegation met Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal and alleged that a pamphlet was circulated in government-run schools by the AAP asking parents about their political choices, even as the ruling party termed the pamphlet "fake propaganda" and accused the saffron party of "scripting" it to "play tricks and derail" its education reforms.
The Delhi's Directorate of Education (DoE) had on Thursday termed the letter "fake" and said it would investigate its origin.
"The interactive session with parents for creating awareness about happiness and entrepreneurship curriculum are ordered to be kept in abeyance till further orders," Director of Education Binay Bhushan said in an official order.
The office of Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who is in charge of the education department, in a statement, termed the charge "fake propaganda" intended to "derail" the initiative of parents meet held at all government schools.
"Delhi government holds parents interaction in all government schools across Delhi. The fake propaganda to derail the initiative is unfortunate," the statement said.
Later in the day Sisodia said, "We will do it (interactive session with parents) once the schools are open."
A memorandum submitted to the L-G by the BJP delegation led by its Delhi unit chief Manoj Tiwari, stated, "The AAP is indulging in brainwashing the parents of children studying in its schools so that they become committed to the party's political philosophy, vision and achievements."
"Members of the School Management Committees (SMCs), who are AAP leaders, MLAs and workers, have been assigned the responsibility of tutoring the parents so that they are too deeply entrenched to AAP and do not deviate to either the BJP or Congress," it said.
"The questions framed are highly objectionable and against the fundamental rights of an individual parent and also unconstitutional. We request that the format of the Parent Teacher Meeting the where agenda of AAP is being propagated should be stopped and SMCs be dissolved for their illegal, arbitrary and unconstitutional activities," it said.
Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta was also a member of the BJP delegation.
Delhi Congress leader Kiran Walia accused the Kejriwal government of dragging schools in its "political game plan".
Walia who was the education minister during Sheila Dikshit's rule, alleged, "The school management committees have been asked to ensure that parents of school children promise to vote for the Aam Aadmi Party in the Assembly polls due next year."
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) issued a statement alleging that the BJP is playing "dirty tricks" and wants to "derail" Delhi's education reforms.
"The dirty tricks department of the BJP is out to derail the education reforms in Delhi being carried out by the Aam Aadmi Party government. In the latest cheap shot, the BJP first circulated a self scripted pamphlet on social media and then took it to the L-G and lodged a complaint over it," the statement said.
"It is shocking that a piece of paper with no authenticity is being circulated and being used by the BJP to derail an important initiative," it added.
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