Why no woman in Delhi Government, Navjot Sidhu takes on Arvind Kejriwal

Chandigarh, November 29

In an apparent move to dispel the buzz about AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal trying to woo PPCC chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, the latter on Monday took on the former over his pre-poll promises in Punjab.

Incidentally, Sidhu had not reacted when Kejriwal during his recent Punjab visit had praised him for questioning CM Charanjit Singh Channi on sand being sold above the capped rate.

In a series of tweets on Monday, Sidhu took on AAP, picking holes in Kejriwal’s claim on women empowerment and his promise of Rs 1,000 per month to women if voted to power in Punjab. Sidhu said: “Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones at others. You talk of women empowerment, jobs and teachers. However, you don’t have one woman minister in your Cabinet. How many women in Delhi get Rs 1,000 despite revenue surplus left by Sheila Dikshit!”

The Punjab unit of the Congress was engaging women in every step of the electoral process, Sidhu said, adding that true leadership was not in giving the lollipop of Rs 1,000, but investing in their future by providing skills for self-employment.

Citing RTI-based data, Sidhu said: “In 2015 there were 12,515 job vacancies of teachers in Delhi, and in 2021 there are 19,907 such vacancies. But you are filling most posts by just guest lecturers. In your 2015 manifesto, you promised 8 lakh new jobs and 20 new colleges in Delhi, where are the jobs and colleges? On the contrary, unemployment rate of Delhi has increased almost 5 times in the last 5 years.”

Sidhu hit out at Kejriwal after Delhi’s Deputy CM Manish Sisodia asked Punjab Education Minister Pargat Singh to compare schools of Delhi with those of Punjab.

Hitting back, Pargat Singh said the AAP was releasing fake figures to mislead people. He said he had asked his Delhi counterpart to draw a comparison on the parameters of the national performance grading index 2021, not over the list of schools.

Pargat said Sisodia’s list should also throw light on school-wise enrolment numbers, permanent teachers and vacancies, 10th results and the names of principals from 2013-14 to 2019-20. — TNS