When should I come to see your govt schools: Kejriwal to Assam CM Sarma as Twitter spat grows
New Delhi (PTI): The Twitter spat between Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Assam counterpart stretched on to Saturday with the AAP chief asking Himanta Biswa Sarma when should he come to see the schools of the northeastern state.
The argument between the two leaders in the virtual space began after Kejriwal had on Wednesday tweeted that a closure of schools is not a solution and there is a need to open more schools across the country, and shared a link to a news report claiming a "closure" of some schools in Assam.
Both Kejriwal and Sarma have exchanged several virtual verbal volleys in the past three days.
On Saturday, the AAP supremo tweeted in Hindi, "There is a saying we have -- If someone asks 'When should I come' and they say 'Come whenever you can', then it means 'Don't come ever'. I had asked you -- 'When should I come to see your government schools', you didn't tell me. Tell me, when should I come, only then I can come."
His fresh tweet came in response to the remarks made by Sarma on Friday on the microblogging site.
In a series of tweets, he had shared some of the differences between Delhi and Assam, mocking Kejriwal.
"Dear @ArvindKejriwal Ji, Your ignorance is painful. Let me help you. Assam is 50 times bigger than Delhi! Our 44521 govt schools teach 65 lakh students - against your 1000+ odd schools. Our army of dedicated teachers number 2+ lakh; Midday meal workers 1.18 lakh. Fathom it?" he tweeted.
In another tweet, Sarma said, "And yes, when you're in Assam, which you so desperately wish to, I will take you to our Medical Colleges, 1000 times better than your Mohalla Clinic. Also meet our bright Govt school teachers and students." He added in Hindi "quit bothering about making India no.1, Modiji is doing that".
Sarma had taken to Twitter on Thursday to lash out at Kejriwal over the amalgamation of schools and asked him to "do his homework" before commenting.
"Dear @ArvindKejriwal Ji-as usual you commented on something without any homework! Since my days as Education Minister till now, please note, the Assam government has established/taken over 8,610 new schools," he had tweeted.
He had also asked how many schools did the Delhi government start in the last seven years.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief had responded to Sarma's tweet on Friday.
"Oh, it seems you took offence. My intention was not to point out your faults. All of us are one country. We have to learn from each other, then only India will become the number one country," Kejriwal said in a tweet in Hindi.
He further had said he is willing to visit Assam and asked Sarma when should he go to the northeastern state.
"You show me your good work in the field of education. You come to Delhi, I will show you the work in Delhi," he said
Kejriwal had tweeted on Wednesday in response to a news item claiming that the Assam government had closed 34 schools due to poor results.
Sarma later claimed that since his tenure as the education minister, the state government has, from 2013 till now, provincialised or taken over private schools into the government fold and this includes 6,802 elementary and 1,589 secondary schools, 81 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya, three Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Avashik Vidyalaya and 97 tea garden model schools.
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Apologise for seeking votes for Modi earlier: Uddhav Thackeray
Kolhapur (PTI): Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday said the Narendra Modi government has betrayed Maharashtra, and he apologises to the people for seeking votes for the prime minister in earlier elections.
Thackeray and his Maha Vikas Aghadi ally and NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar spoke at a rally at Ichalkaranji in Kolhapur district of western Maharashtra in support of Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate from Hatkanangale constituency, Satyajit Patil.
Talking about the circumstances in which his government fell in 2019, Thackeray said the Supreme Court had not delivered its verdict on whose Shiv Sena was the real one, but the "Election Commission and the arbitrator (Maharashtra Speaker Rahul Narwekar) who were working as their (BJP's) servants, gave their verdicts."
"Now when PM Modi calls us fake Shiv Sena, he is putting pressure on the court," Thackeray said. Sharad Pawar said that Modi, during visits to Maharashtra, only criticises him (Pawar) and Thackeray instead of speaking about his plans for the state. Pawar also accused the Centre of misusing central agencies and pointed to the arrests of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren in alleged corruption cases.
Thackeray said when no one was willing to join hands with the BJP, the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with it. The saffron party, however, brought down the government of a man whose family had given it everything, he said, referring to the fall of his government in June 2022. "I apologise for seeking votes for Modi (in the past) because his government has betrayed Maharashtra," the Sena (UBT) chief added.
He also accused the BJP of using the Shiv Sena in the Lok Sabha elections but scheming to defeat its candidates in assembly polls. "You used Shiv Sainiks (in Lok Sabha polls) but defeated our candidates (in assembly polls). I have come to avenge it," said Thackeray who parted ways with the BJP in 2019. Thackeray and Pawar also shared the stage at a rally in Kolhapur city for Congress candidate Shahu Chhatrapati.
Pawar said on the occasion that Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru spoke about the country when he visited the states, while Indira Gandhi would talk about poverty alleviation. "But this PM can not rest till he targets Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar. I want to tell Modi ji, however may you criticise us and bypass important issues facing the state and the country, the people of Maharashtra will teach you a lesson," he said. Hitting out at Modi for calling Pawar "wandering soul," Thackeray in his speech recalled that Atal Bihari Vajpayee had praised Pawar's disaster management skills.
