Delhi’s deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia Sunday challenged Bharatiya Janata Party’s national working president JP Nadda and senior leader Vijay Goel for a debate on “education model” for state government-run schools in BJP-ruled states versus the ones in Delhi.

Sisodia’s statement was in reaction to Nadda’s speech in BJP’s state working committee meeting in Delhi on Saturday, wherein he had reportedly said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has become a “laughing stock” in Delhi and the BJP is confident about forming government in the national capital, where assembly elections are likely to be held by early 2020.

“To make fun of any elected government is equivalent to making fun of the people’s mandate and the BJP has done that,” Sisodia said. The senior AAP leader said, “I challenge JP Nadda and Vijay Goel to choose 10 best government schools from any of the BJP-ruled states and compare that with 10 government schools which I will choose from Delhi. Let us see whose education model is better and then engage in a debate over it to find out who is the laughing stock.”

Goel too was present in the BJP’s state working committee meeting. Sisodia said that he included Goel in the “challenge” because the BJP leader would often “enquire” about government schools in Delhi.

Reacting to Sisodia’s comments, senior BJP leader Vijender Gupta said, “Of all the students who enrol in the 9th standard in government schools in Delhi, hardly 20% make it to the 12th standard. If the quality of education in schools run by Delhi government is so good then why do 80% drop out? Why has the challenge been conveniently limited to 10 schools when Delhi has about 1150 government schools?”

First Published: Jul 01, 2019 04:21 IST