New Delhi: The tongue-lashing administered by the Delhi High Court to the Arvind Kejriwal-led government is “well-deserved,” according to petitioner Ashok Aggarwal, who approached the court about the non-supply of textbooks to over 2 lakh students in government schools and those run by the national capital’s municipal corporation (MCD), which is controlled by the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
“The Delhi government deserved to be called harshly. Their advertising indicate that they operate world-class institutions. However, the truth is very different. I visited various Delhi government and Municipal Corporation schools. I noticed 140 kids, or three sections, seated in one class. There was no water facility. “I witnessed the same in civic body schools too,” Aggarwal said.
Aggarwal, an attorney, added that under the Right To Education (RTE) Act, the Delhi government was required to provide basic amenities in MCD-run schools.
“Students are entitled to textbooks, notebooks, writing materials, and uniforms, but they have not received any. While notebooks were provided following the high court judgement, books have yet to arrive,” he added.
On Friday, a two-judge panel led by Acting Chief Justice (ACJ) Manmohan and also including Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora chastised the AAP government, accusing it of “prioritising the party’s political interests over national interests.”
“You (the Delhi administration) have prioritised your interests over the interests of the kids and youngsters who are learning. That is extremely evident, and we will conclude that you have prioritised your political interests. “This is arrogance of power at its peak,” the bench remarked.
The AAP has recently organised street protests in response to the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) arrest of its national convenor, Chief Minister Kejriwal, in March in connection with an alleged liquor policy fraud. The AAP supremo is now detained in Tihar prison.
