Congress and CJP clash after PR campaign for schools in AAP-ruled Punjab: Here is what happened

The CJP’s school audit in AAP-ruled Punjab has triggered a clash with Congress after Sachin Pilot questioned whether the group was applying the same standards to Punjab as it does to other states.
Saurav Das (L) and Sachin Pilot (R) (Image via Dainik Tribune and NDTV)

The Congress and the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) are once again involved in a war of words, this time over the CJP’s school audit in Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-ruled Punjab. Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister and newly appointed Congress in-charge for Punjab, Sachin Pilot, questioned whether the group would audit schools in Punjab with the “same courage” it had shown while targeting governments elsewhere.

Pilot’s remarks came after a CJP team visited three government schools in Ludhiana. CJP spokesperson Saurav Das led the team during the visit, which included a government School of Eminence, a government senior secondary school and a government primary school.

Sachin Pilot questions CJP’s ‘same courage’

Following the audit, Das and other members of the group met Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains, who reportedly assured them that action would be taken on the complaints. AAP founder and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal also thanked Das for highlighting the problems. “Thank you for pointing out our deficiencies. We will immediately address them,” Kejriwal said.

However, the Punjab audit drew criticism from several social media users, who accused the CJP of going easy on the AAP government and doing PR for Punjab’s government schools. They compared the visit with the group’s audits in other states, particularly BJP-ruled Rajasthan.

Pilot also appeared to raise a similar question. On Friday, 11th September, he said, “Anyone would welcome auditing schools in Punjab or elsewhere. Only one request/suggestion: audit Punjab with the same eyes, the same questions and the same courage with which you audit governments elsewhere. Punjab deserves no special exemption—and AAP deserves no friendly exemption.”

AAP challenges Congress to compare Punjab and Himachal schools

AAP leaders hit back at Pilot and challenged him to compare Punjab’s government schools with those in Congress-ruled Himachal Pradesh.

Former Delhi education minister Manish Sisodia said, “We can show such excellent 1,000 schools; can you show us such 1,000 schools from Himachal Pradesh? Let us audit the government schools of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh together. Speak! Do you accept the challenge?”

AAP national media in-charge Anurag Dhanda also questioned Pilot’s position on allegedly poor conditions in some government schools in BJP-ruled Rajasthan. “What do you call this relationship?” Dhanda asked, while questioning Pilot’s “defence” of the Rajasthan government. He also challenged Congress leaders to provide a list of 1,000 schools in Himachal Pradesh, saying AAP would provide a similar list from Punjab and that both sides could audit them together.

Meanwhile, CJP co-convenor Ashutosh Ranka responded to the criticism by saying he had repeatedly asked Rajasthan Education Minister Madan Dilawar to show him 10 of the best schools built during his tenure. “If you know, then tell me; we’ll go there. Good schools will also be shown,” Ranka said.

The CJP has faced criticism earlier as well over the states and governments it chooses to target. BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad had accused the group of remaining “silent on Punjab and Congress-ruled states” while focusing on BJP-ruled states.

This is not the first time Congress supporters and CJP representatives have publicly clashed. Earlier, the two sides were involved in a bitter argument over the credit for the Supreme Court’s decision to quash FIRs registered against protesters involved in demonstrations held between 20th and 25th July.

Written by OpIndia Staff
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