Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia dare BJP to arrest them over classroom scam allegations

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia have hit out at the BJP for accusing them of corruption in the construction of classrooms. Saying the BJP was deliberately keeping schools in a poor condition in the states it rules, they dared the BJP to have them arrested.

Three BJP MPs from Delhi had earlier on Monday accused Kejriwal and Sisodia of a Rs 2000 crore scam in the awarding of contracts for the construction of classrooms across Delhi. They claimed that the AAP was constructing classrooms at Rs 8,800 per square foot.

They also alleged the contracts had been awarded to associates and relatives of Kejriwal and Sisodia. They had said they would take the matter to the Lok Pal. The issues comes just months ahead of the Assembly election in Delhi.

Sisodia and Kejriwal took to Twitter to air their grievances with the allegations against them. 

"For the first time, poor children are studying in such good schools. Before, only rich children could even go close to such schools. Now, the children of auto drivers, ayahs and labourers are becoming doctors, engineers and lawyers. BJP does not want this to happen. That is why BJP is intentionally keeping schools in a poor condition in the states it rules," read a tweet from Kejriwal.

"BJP's CBI has already investigated all our files. They found nothing. If there has been a scam, why don't you arrest us immediately? You have all the agencies. Why do you want to stop the good education that the poor are getting?" he said in another tweet.

पहली बार ग़रीब बच्चे इतने अच्छे स्कूलों में पढ़ने लगे।पहले केवल अमीर बच्चों को ऐसे स्कूल नसीब होते थे।अब ऑटो, आया, मज़दूरों के बच्चे डाक्टर, इंजीनियर, वक़ील बनने लगे हैं। भाजपा ऐसा नहीं चाहती।इसीलिए भाजपा ने जान बूझकर अपने राज्यों में स्कूलों को ख़राब रखा हुआ है।(1/2) https://t.co/0rbvXHgJ28

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) July 1, 2019

भाजपा की CBI ने हमारी सारी फ़ाइलें जाँच लीं, कुछ नहीं मिला। घपला हुआ है तो हमें तुरंत गिरफ़्तार करो ना। सारी एजेन्सी तो तुम्हारे पास हैं। ग़रीबों को मिल रही अच्छी शिक्षा क्यों रोकना चाहते हो? (2/2)

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) July 1, 2019

"I challenge Manoj Tiwari, if I have taken part in some scam, let him arrest me. Either arrest me by this evening or apologise to the people of Delhi. Apologise to the parents and children of Delhi, for whom these schools are being built," Sisodia's tweet read.

मैं चुनौती देता हूँ @ManojTiwariMP को कि अगर मैंने कोई घोटाला किया है तो मुझे गिरफ़्तार करें...या तो मुझे आज शाम तक घोटाले के आरोप में गिरफ़्तार करें या फिर दिल्ली के लोगों से माफ़ी माँगे। दिल्ली के पेरेंट्स से, दिल्ली के बच्चों से माफ़ी माँगें जिनके लिए ये स्कूल बन रहे हैं.

— Manish Sisodia (@msisodia) July 1, 2019

With the Delhi Assembly elections just months away, the BJP is taking a shot at the classroom project, which the AAP has been among the key focus areas for the Kejriwal government. The AAP has repeatedly touted its construction of classrooms as a key achievement, even as it acknowledged that there was a shortage of about 45,000 teachers.

In the recent Lok Sabha elections as well, the AAP had appealed for votes on the basis of its work on constructing the classrooms and for its claimed improvement in the delivery of health services. However, the party had lost in all seven of Delhi's Lok Sabha constituencies, and placed second in only one.