'Hollow & Gimmick': Union Edu Minister Dharmendra Pradhan Flays Delhi Education System Amid AAP-BJP Faceoff

Pradhan said that Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi, and Manish Sisodia, his deputy, are trying to hide their "stealing" by bringing up the New York Times article on Delhi's educational system.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan

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Dharmendra Pradhan, the union minister of education, has called the educational system run by the Delhi government "hollow" and "a gimmick," news agency PTI reported.

Attacking the AAP administration over the excise policy, Pradhan said that Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi, and Manish Sisodia, his deputy, are trying to hide their "stealing" by bringing up the New York Times article on Delhi's educational system.

Speaking at Business Today’s “India@100 conclave” on Friday, Union Education Minister stated: “Delhi’s education system is khokhla (hollow) and a nautanki (gimmick). According to the National Achievement Survey, the performance of class 10 and 12 students of Delhi government schools has been constantly declining."

“They are just trying to cover up for their theft using the excise policy by showing the New York Times article while in reality the situation is different,” he added.

After the CBI raided the home of Sisodia, who also holds the portfolios of education and excise, in connection with allegations of irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the government's excise policy, the New York Times report that was published last week had set off a verbal spat between the BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

While disputing the claim of sponsored journalism, the New York Times said that the article was based on "an objective and on-the-ground reporting."

Sisodia Alleges BJP Wants All Delhi Govt Schools To Be Closed To Make Way For Private Players

Manish Sisodia, the deputy chief minister of Delhi, asserted on Saturday that the BJP has begun "weaving a new fabricated tale" to frame him for corruption in the building of Delhi government schools after the CBI was unable to uncover any evidence of it in the excise policy case.

Speaking at a news conference, he said that the BJP was using such a "false story of corruption" as part of "a plot" to shut down all public schools and make way for the introduction of private schools in the capital.

Sisodia referred to the BJP as a "party of illiterates" and said that over the course of the last seven years, at least 72,000 government schools in the states controlled by the saffron party had been shut down to make space for the opening of private schools.