Punjab Sikhiya Kranti | Oppn terms it ‘PR circus’, claims AAP govt wasting public money

The Opposition parties on Monday hit out at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab, accusing them of “wasting public money” by inaugurating government schools across the state for mere publicity.

Calling the AAP government’s education model “bogus”, leader of opposition (LoP) Partap Singh Bajwa said their newly envisaged ‘Sikhiya Kranti’ programme was nothing more than petty theatrics to gain publicity. He said that instead of improving the schools’ basic infrastructure and recruiting teachers and other staff, the state government had embarked on an inauguration spree. There were orders to install separate plaques for even insignificant works such as boundary walls, classrooms, washrooms, etc, he claimed in a statement, putting the cost of arrangements for inauguration ceremonies at more than ₹20 crore.

Bajwa asked the ruling party if this was what their much-hyped education model was all about. He also alleged misuse of teachers as propaganda machinery, questioning the school education minister’s directions to principals, headmasters, and teachers to post photos and other updates on inaugurations on social media.

BJP leader and Delhi minster Manjinder Singh Sirsa claimed that the AAP government’s focus was not on education, but promotion of (AAP national convener) Arvind Kejriwal and the party. “AAP did this in Delhi; now pushing the same gimmick in Punjab. This isn’t governance; it’s a taxpayer-funded PR circus. @BhagwantMann Ji, Punjab’s children need books, teachers & classrooms; NOT plaques, photo-ops & cheap publicity stunts (sic),” Sirsa posted on X.

BJP’s state vice-president Arvind Khanna said that funds were being squandered away on ribbon-cutting, and all this circus would make a dent of ₹20 crore to the state. “This is not governance; it’s image-building, paid for with public money,” he remarked on social media.

Congress MLA and former education minister Pargat Singh alleged that the AAP misled the people of Punjab with false promises and the hollow “Delhi Model” to grab power, and it was now “looting” Punjab’s treasury to deceive other states in Punjab’s name. “AAP’s official Twitter (X) handle falsely claims that 341 new schools were opened across Punjab in a single day! The truth? Not a single new school has been built by the @BhagwantMann government in the past 3 years,” he posted on X.

Congress MLA from Bholath, Sukhpal Singh Khaira posed on X, “l urge Bhagwant Mann to clarify what right does Manish Sisodia have to get his name inscribed on a foundation stone in Punjab? He’s neither from our state nor does he hold any constitutional office on the contrary he’s a rejected leader from Delhi! His so-called Education Model too has been rejected by the people of Delhi.”

SAD calls it a ‘scam’

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) said the AAP government’s decision to spend ₹35 crore for installing 25,000 plaques for minor works in government schools and incurring an expenditure of ₹1,000 crore for minor repair works was a “scam” in the making.

Party leader Daljit Singh Cheema said it was condemnable that chief minister Bhagwant Mann had handed over the responsibility of unveiling projects to party leaders from Delhi who were charged with corruption and had even remained in jail for various crimes.

“The AAP government has 92 legislators in the state assembly, but it has not found anyone competent to lead the work. They have given this responsibility to Delhi leader Manish Sisodia and others. The state’s CM has been reduced to escorting Delhi leaders to schools and hospitals. The outsiders, who have no stake in governance, are framing policies to run the schools and hospitals,” he added.

The SAD leader also said the money could have been better used to fill more than 60,000 vacancies in government schools.

BOX:

AAP hits back

CM Bhagwant Mann hit back at rival party leaders for criticising the state government’s initiative, asking what can he do if the opposition leaders are “allergic” to the “education revolution”.

Education minister Harjot Singh Bains too chided the leaders of the Congress, SAD and the BJP, calling their criticism of the state government’s education reforms “hypocritical and self-serving”. He said those who neglected government schools for decades now seemed to have problem seeing ‘Padhda Punjab’. “When Punjab’s education system was failing, they remained silent. Now that our children are thriving, they feel threatened,” he claimed.

Former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia lauded the Mann government in Punjab.

He accused the BJP government in Delhi of depriving the poor families of quality education and said private schools in the national capital have doubled their school fees to “loot” a common man.

“They should take care of parents in Delhi who are being looted,” he said, directing his attack at the BJP regime in the national capital.