Arvind Kejriwal has linked the CBI raid at Manish Sisodia's house to an article that was published on The New York Times front page today. "On the day NYT published Manish Sisodia's photo on the front page praising Delhi's education model, the same day the Centre sent CBI to his house," Kejriwal tweeted, adding nothing amiss would emerge from the searches.
The country's premier investigation agency raided 20 other locations in the national capital region, including the house of IAS officer Arava Gopi Krishna after registering an FIR in connection with the Delhi excise policy case. Krishna was the excise commissioner when the policy was implemented last year. Delhi LG VK Saxena, who shares power with the government in the Union Territory, recommended a CBI probe last month into the policy alleging procedural lapses. Officials claimed there were "deliberate and gross procedural lapses" to provide post tender "undue benefits to liquor licensees".
Manish Sisodia, reacting to the raid, said the action was taken to stop the Delhi government from developing the UT.
Here's what was written in the New York Times article.
The article titled 'Our children are worth it' was written by Delhi-based journalist Karan Deep Singh. The New York Time bio of the writer said he was named a finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize in Investigative Reporting and nominated for a national Emmy Award.
The article is a detailed report on Delhi's revamped education system. Education and healthcare are the mainstays of the Aam Aadmi Party's election campaigns. The party claims it has improved the city's rickety education and health infrastructure to a great deal -- a poll promise that contributed to their victory in the Punjab Assembly elections.
The article praised AAP's focus on education and lauded its infrastructure push.
"In India, where millions of families look to education to break the cycle of poverty, public schools have long had a reputation for decrepit buildings, mismanagement, poor instruction, and even tainted lunches. Mr. Paswan’s school, in a working-class Delhi neighborhood, was known as “the red school,” for the regular brawls on campus and the color of its uniforms. Today, it is a highly sought-after school, a beneficiary of the broader transformation of Delhi’s education system," the reporter writes in the article.
It said in the school all Class 10 and Class 12 students passed last year compared to 89 percent and 82 percent in 2014.
"Mr. Kejriwal committed billions of additional dollars to overhaul schools, some of which until recently had no drinking water or had been invaded by snakes. The school system partnered with top experts and universities to design new curriculums, while working with parents, students and teachers to improve day-to-day operations."
"Other state governments, including Telangana and Tamil Nadu, are now pushing to adopt the Delhi model," the article adds.
