A fuming Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday came down hard on Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena, accusing him of harbouring a “feudal mindset” and denying primary teachers in the capital the opportunity to avail the “best training” and the “best institute in the world”.
The Aam Aadmi Party has accused Saxena of blocking the city government’s plan to send primary school teachers to a training programme in Finland.
Addressing the Delhi Assembly on the issue of the L-G’s alleged interference in his government’s work, Kejriwal said, “The L-G is saying conduct the training in India. Why should we do it in India? Are we any less? Just because we are poor, are we any less, just because we are poor, are we any less intelligent? In the entire world, Finland has the best education system, everyone knows that. We are sending teachers for training purposes to one of the top universities in Finland. We will send, Sir. The money of taxpayers is involved here,” said Kejriwal.
“Kaun LG? Kahan se aaya hai yeh? Hamare sar pe baith gaya hai. (Who is LG? where has he come from? He is sitting on our heads.) Will he decide where we should send our children to study? Our country is lagging because of such people with a feudal mindset,” he claimed.
The AAP national convenor also showed a list of “children of BJP MPs, MLAs and ministers who have studied abroad”, adding that everyone should have access to the best education.
Speaking on the powers of the L-G, Kejriwal further said that the Supreme Court has clearly said that the L-G does not have the power to make decisions, barring on issues of land, public order and police.
A release by the Delhi government read that the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) planned to send two groups of 30 teachers to Jyvaskyla University in Finland in December 2022 and March 2023.
The 5-day training program is meant for primary in-charges of Delhi government schools and teacher educators of SCERT. Under this, SCERT has made a budget provision in its annual plan and SCERT has been given a grant in aid by the Delhi government for conducting such training programmes, reported ANI.
However, Delhi Deputy chief minister and education minister Manish Sisodia on January 12 claimed that the L-G had allegedly refused the training programme.
The L-G’s office, on the other hand, denied the allegations on Monday.