BJP seeks action against AAP's Atishi over Kerala 'officials' visiting Delhi school claim
New Delhi(PTI): The BJP Sunday demanded action against AAP MLA Atishi over her "false" claim that "officials from Kerala" visited a school in Delhi to learn about the Kejriwal government's education model.
It comes after Kerala Education Minister V Sivankutty said in a tweet that no "officials" from the state visited Delhi as claimed by Atishi on Saturday.
His tweet was in response to a post by Atishi, the MLA from Delhi's Kalkaji, who had said, "It was wonderful to host officials from Kerala at one of our schools in Kalkaji. They were keen to understand and implement our education model in their state. This is @ArvindKejriwal Govt's idea of nation building. Development through collaboration."
Sivankutty replied to her tweet, saying, "Kerala's Dept of Education has not sent anyone to learn about the 'Delhi Model'. At the same time, all assistance was provided to officials who had visited from Delhi to study the 'Kerala Model' last month. We would like to know which 'officials' were welcomed by the AAP MLA."
Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor demanded Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who also holds the education portfolio, to clarify whether any official delegation of Kerala had visited a Delhi government school on Saturday or take action against Atishi for her "false" claim.
"It is surprising how Atishi can make such false claims violating state protocol for political gimmick," Kapoor said.
Another Delhi BJP spokesperson, Harish Khurana, said "Delhi model" has been "exposed" with Kerala education minister denying claim of Atishi.
Responding to the Kerala education minister's tweet, Atishi said it would have been good if he had done a "fact-check" before tweeting.
"Dear Sivankutty ji, It would have been good if you had done a fact check before tweeting on this issue. You might want to have a look at our press release to see what we actually said!," she tweeted on Sunday, sharing the press release issued by her office the day before.
She also told reporters that nowhere in the press release it was stated that Kerala "government officials" had come to see Delhi model of education.
"I want to request the (Kerala) minister to check facts before tweeting. Had he had seen our press release, it would have been clear to him that we did not say anywhere that government officials came. WE have clearly stated that Kerala CBSE school management officials came," she told reporters when asked for her comment.
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar School of Specialised Excellence, Kalkaji, was visited yesterday by Mr. Victor T.I, Regional Secy of CBSE School Management Association and Dr. M. Dinesh Babu, Confederation of Kerala Sahodaya Complexes https://t.co/pg5Pvbv6Ce
— Atishi (@AtishiAAP) April 24, 2022
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
K'taka HC criticises BJP MLA Yatnal for "half pakistani" remark, refuses to stay defamation case
Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Thursday expressed its disapproval of a statement made by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Basangouda Patil Yatnal, in which he referred to the State Health Minister, Dinesh Gundu Rao, as "half Pakistani."
A single-judge bench led by Justice M. Nagaprasanna declined to stay defamation proceedings initiated by Rao's wife, Tabbasum Dinesh Rao, under s. 499 and s. 500 of the Indian Penal Code. The court noted, “The statement directly attracts these provisions, contributing to the rise of defamation cases.”
During the hearing, the judge questioned the MLA’s counsel, stating, “Why make such statements? You cannot label a community this way; this is not the right approach.”
Yatnal's counsel, Venkatesh Dalwai, argued that his client’s statement was a response to one made by the minister in the public domain. However, Rao's wife contended that the remark was directed at her.
The court further observed, “Just because someone's wife is a Muslim, can you call him 'half Pakistani'? This is unacceptable.”
Dalwai also argued that the magistrate court had not followed proper procedure when taking cognizance of the complaint, as no notice was issued to Yatnal. The High Court agreed with this argument and indicated that it would instruct the Magistrate to reconsider the case, noting a procedural lapse.
The court is expected to release its order on Monday.
