Mumbai:
AAP leader Durgesh Pathak on Sunday claimed that the BJP-ruled north municipal corporation has not given books to 3 lakh students studying in schools run by them. Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor hit back, saying Pathak should not politicise issues and there is a need for him to ask Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to release municipal funds as per the fourth Delhi Finance Commission recommendations.
Addressing a press briefing, Pathak claimed the BJP-ruled North Municipal Corporation of Delhi has not given books to 3 lakh students studying in schools run by them. “Under North MCD there are around 3 lakh students and around 750 schools where these students study. From April this year, the new session has started and it is the responsibility of the North MCD to provide books to these 3 lakh students. It is August and not a single student of the BJP-run North MCD has received any book,” claimed Pathak.
He also claimed that the 3 lakh students will not get books until December. “This year there is a chance that the North MCD will use the excuse of COVID-19 pandemic, but last year also till November they could not provide a single book to the students and finally, they transferred money in the accounts of students to buy the books,” he said.
The Aam Aadmi Party demands that the BJP-run north municipal corporation immediately provide books and notebooks to the students within 10-15 days, he said. “I also want to request Adesh Gupta, the Delhi BJP chief, to interfere and provide books to these children within 10 to 15 days,” he said.
Delhi BJP spokesperson Kapoor said “no doubt books have not been distributed to students of municipal schools and yes earlier too there have been odd situations like this”. “But before raising this issue on a public platform AAP leaders should ask the chief minister why he has financially crippled the municipal bodies to a extent that they face such odd situations while trying to provide basic education, sanitation or health services,” he said.
