DW Bureau  / Ludhiana : Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said a common man wants his children to get good eduction and asserted that education can remove the country’s poverty.  Kejriwal was speaking after inaugurating the School of Eminence at Indrapuri in Ludhiana along with Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener said he is happy that 13 more Schools of Eminence, including the one at Ludhiana, are being inaugurated in Punjab today.

About the Ludhiana school, Kejriwal said, “When we enter the school, one does not believe it is a government school. The kind of classrooms, laboratories and other facilities it has, I can say with challenge that if anyone had build such a school in private sector, they would have kept at least Rs 10,000 per month fees.” He said now the children of labourers, poor, farmers, electricians, plumbers and others will get modern facilities in the School of Eminence.

Taking a dig at the previous governments in Punjab, Kejriwal alleged that they neglected the education and health sectors.

“I keep visiting Punjab regularly. Two chief ministers (Mann and Kejriwal) are touring Punjab and visiting the government schools. Did any CM earlier bother whether the government schools were running properly. Now, two CMs are visiting the hospitals and Mohalla Clinics to see how things are working,” he added.

Kejriwal said a common man only wants that his children receive good education and stand on their own feet.

“There is only thing with which we can remove poverty of our country and that is education. If we give good education to our children, they can good become good and able citizens and lead the country on the path of progress,” he added.

Escalating his attack on the previous regimes, Kejriwal said, “Earlier, the leaders used to say that coffers are empty, but we never said so. We give free treatment and free power. Earlier, all money used to go to their homes. Now all of it is used for public welfare.”  

“But you are seeing how the Centre is hassling us. In Delhi, I am tackling that. But in Punjab, Mann is fighting with the BJP, Centre and with the governor,” Kejriwal said.

“The Centre is withholding Rs 8,000 crore of Punjab’s money, they are not releasing it. It is not their money, it is of the people of Punjab. With this money, so many developmental works could have been undertaken,” he added.

The AAP national convener asked the people of Punjab to make his party’s candidates victorious in the Lok Sabha polls.

“The way you gave blessings to us and we won 92 seats out of 117 (in 2022 Punjab Assembly polls). Give us 13 seats, it would strengthen Mann’s hands and he can fight for your rights with greater strength,” Kejriwal said.

After the inauguration of the school of eminence in Ludhiana, Kejriwal said that he still remembers when the AAP came to power in Delhi, the condition of government schools used to be bad.

Kejriwal also said that when they met a student in one of the government schools in the national capital and told him that children are future of country, the reply from him had left everyone stunned.

“When we told him that children are future of the country to which he had said children studying in private schools are country’s future and not those studying in the government ones. A few years later, when we got the opportunity to visit the same school when it was completely transformed, the same student said that now he has confidence that government school students are also the future of the country,” he said.

Kejriwal said those students have now also gained in confidence and their dreams will definitely come true as they are now getting equal opportunities.

Referring to the Ludhiana school, he said some students said that they want to become doctors, mechanical engineer and scientists.

“I say this with pride that Bhagwant Mann’s government is giving best education to the poorest of poor,” Kejriwal said.

“One lakh students had applied for admission in the Schools of Eminence already operational and a test was held and 8,200 got admission, he added.

Speaking on the occasion, Mann said, “The AAP does politics of development and not politics of hate or caste. We talk of building good schools, good hospitals, giving free power and creating infrastructure.” Talking about the school, Mann said, “I wish we had such facilities during our time.” “Many parents told me that in private schools many things are boasted whereas after admission is taken that output is not there,” he added.