Eye-for-an-eye? Navjot Singh Sidhu joins protesting teachers outside Delhi CM residence

Tribune Web Desk
Chandigarh, December 5

Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu joined guest teachers protesting outside the house of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence on Sunday in what appeared to be a “tit-for-tat” response to the latter’s action of joining a similar protest in Punjab's Mohali.

“Joined Delhi Guest Teachers Protest outside Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Ji's residence in Delhi,” Sidhu said in a tweet.

Videos from the protest site show Sidhu joining the sloganeering outside Kejriwal’s house.  

“You come to our house and speak about (Higher Education Minister) Pargat Singh? Pargat Singh’s fighting," he said. "I came here to support these protesters. I stand with people fighting on the streets of Punjab as well,” Sidhu said.

AAP national convener Kejriwal had joined protesting contractual teachers in Mohali last week. The protesters were demanding regularisation of their services.  

Punjab goes to polls in early 2022 and the AAP is not leaving any stone unturned to make a decisive presence in the border state.

Kejriwal has announced a slew of sops for different sections of society, including teachers. Among the assurances are regularising contractual teachers and revamping the education system in the state if voted to power.

Hitting out at Kejriwal, Sidhu said the Delhi government was following a contractual model of education.

“Delhi Education Model is Contract Model … Delhi Govt has 1031 Schools while only 196 schools have Principals … 45% teacher’s posts are vacant and schools are run by 22,000 Guest Teachers on daily wages with every 15 days renewal of contracts,” Sidhu alleged in a tweet.

The Punjab Congress chief said that there were 12,515 job vacancies for teachers in Delhi in 2015, but in 2021, the number had shot up to 19,907.

He said the AAP government had been filing up the vacant posts by hiring guest lecturers.

“AAP promised to regularise contractual teachers give equal wages as permanent staff but made it worse by just having guest teachers. Through School Management Committees, so called AAP volunteers earn Rs 5 Lac yearly from Govt funds that earlier were meant for school’s development,” Sidhu’s another tweet read. —with PTI