Delhi: AAP leader Atishi alleges BJP-private school nexus

AAP leader and Delhi Assembly Leader of Opposition Atishi on Wednesday accused the BJP-led Delhi government of striking a “deal” with private school owners to allow annual fee hikes of up to 10 per cent, alleging a deep nexus between the ruling party and the education lobby.

In a press conference, Atishi claimed that a closed-door meeting took place on April 6 at the residence of Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood, where owners of top

private schools were allegedly assured that the government would soon issue an order giving them formal permission to raise school fees by 10 per cent every year.

“Parents across Delhi are already reeling under unprecedented fee hikes — some as high as 80 per cent. And now, we learn that the BJP government is preparing to legalise this loot,” Atishi said.

She posed three pointed questions to the minister — whether the meeting took place, whether such assurances were given, and how much money had allegedly changed hands in return. “Ashish Sood must answer. How much did he take from these school owners to betray lakhs of Delhi parents?” she asked.

Calling it a “hand-in-glove” arrangement, Atishi alleged that the BJP’s Delhi government was working to undo the safeguards built during the AAP’s 10-year tenure, which she said included court interventions, CAG audits of school accounts and refund orders against illegally collected fees.

She also referred to the BJP’s alleged links with Bharat Arora, president of the action committee of private unaided schools, who she claimed had actively campaigned for CM Rekha Gupta during the elections. “This committee is not just lobbying for private schools — it is essentially functioning as an arm of the BJP,” she said.

Atishi cited a recent protest where a woman reportedly fainted while demonstrating outside a school in the scorching heat, claiming the administration refused to even hear the parents out. “These are the same schools that celebrated the BJP’s election win by distributing laddoos. Why were they so happy? Because they knew their government had arrived,” she said. She warned that if the alleged move went ahead, it would be the first time in Delhi’s history that private schools were allowed unchecked fee hikes without audits or regulatory approval.

Calling Ashish Sood the “Education Minister for Private Schools”, Atishi urged him to clarify the government’s stance. “If there is no such plan, he must say so. But if the allegations are true, it’s a betrayal of every family with school-going children in Delhi,” she said.