New Delhi: Newly-elected Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Vijender Gupta wrote to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday requesting him for withdrawing a circular that made it “compulsory” for government school teachers to attend his oath-taking ceremony as Delhi chief minister.
Gupta, leader of Opposition in the previous Assembly, called the Friday’s circular “dictatorial” that shattered his belief that Kejriwal’s focus after coming back to power would be on governance and strengthening democratic ethos. “By virtue of the order, 15,000 teachers and officials will have to attend the oath ceremony,” Gupta wrote in his letter to Kejriwal.
I have written to Mr. @ArvindKejriwal asking him to withdraw the tughlaqi farmaan to the teachers & officials which is sheer misuse of government machinery to meet political ends. Education cannot be employed as a tool to launch one’s political ambitions. 2/2 pic.twitter.com/8Uvufz3EAk
— Vijender Gupta (@Gupta_vijender) February 15, 2020
Gupta, who has been re-elected from Rohini constituency, said he would attend Kejriwal’s oath-taking ceremony at the Ramlila ground on Sunday.
Reacting to Gupta’s objection, the vice chairman of Delhi Dialogue and Development Commission, Jasmine Shah, said teachers and principals were “architects” of Delhi’s transformation in the past five years and they “deserved to be invited” for the swearing-in ceremony.
Delhi’s teachers and principals are the architects of Delhi’s transformation in the past 5 years. They deserve to be invited to the swearing-in at Ramlila Maidan tomorrow. When did BJP last think of teachers in at the centre of your ‘vikas’ model? Never did, never will. https://t.co/p7U2XHI4E7
— Jasmine Shah (@Jasmine441) February 15, 2020
The AAP returned to power after winning 62 of the 70 Assembly seats in the Delhi assembly election. Kejriwal and his cabinet members will take oath in a grand ceremony on Sunday.