Manoj Tiwari and Manish Sisodia (Photo: File)Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari Monday alleged that the AAP government spent Rs 2,800 crore on construction of over 12,000 classrooms in government schools across the capital, when construction cost should not have gone beyond Rs 800 crore. Hitting back, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia challenged Tiwari, saying that he can get him arrested if he proves the allegations, or should apologise to people of the city.
At a press conference with MPs Parvesh Sahib Singh and Hans Raj Hans, Tiwari claimed that Rs 2,892 crore was spent to build 12,782 classrooms, when only Rs 800 crore was needed.
Citing a purported RTI reply received by Delhi BJP spokesperson Harish Khurana, Tiwari claimed: “Delhi government is constructing classrooms 300 sqft in size at the cost of Rs 24.86 lakh… Even construction of five-star hotels does not cost this much.”
Singh alleged, “It’s not like they have installed smart boards or high-tech gadgets in classrooms. Construction of even five-star hotels costs Rs 5,000 per sqft , but here they have spent Rs 8,800 per sqft.”
Hitting back, CM Arvind Kejriwal said the BJP was trying to hamper work done by the AAP government in the field of education. “The BJP’s CBI checked all our files but found nothing. If there is a scam then arrest us immediately… Why do you want to obstruct good education to the poor (sic),” the AAP chief tweeted.
Sisodia posted a video on infrastructure in Delhi government schools, and challenged Tiwari to name 10 such schools in BJP-ruled states which could match the schools made by the AAP government. “He (Tiwari) knows no math or anything about education,” Sisodia said.
To this, Tiwari said that the AAP government should not divert from the issue. “We will file an official complaint tomorrow,” he said.
