Former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Thursday penned an open letter titled "Politics of Education" vs "Politics of Jail" while in custody alleging that BJP's problem with politics of education is that it "builds nations, not leaders."
The minister was lodged in Tihar jail over his alleged role in the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy. "It is much easier to throw political opponents in jail than giving quality education to children. BJP's real problem with politics of education is that it builds nations, not leaders," he said in the letter.
He also said that politics of education is not a recipe for political success. "Today, politics of jail might be winning under the rule of the BJP, but the future belongs to politics of education," he wrote.
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He further said that, “It is easier to jail people raising voices against the government or running government by threatening political opponents than opening and running state-of-art schools and colleges. Motivating parents, children and teachers for education is a lengthy task. But you only need to pressurise four officials of probe agencies to excel in jail politics."
Lashing out at the schools in BJP-ruled states, he claimed that, "...Their chief ministers are now forced to give five-minute ads on television boasting about their commitment to education."
He also recalled how folk singer Neha Singh Rathore was issued a notice by the Uttar Pradesh police for her song which sparked controversy and the arrest of Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera who was forced to deboard from a plane and arrested over alleged derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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"The only crime of Kejriwal is that he set up a political alternative to the politics of Modi. Because of this, two ministers of the Kejriwal government are in jail today," he added.
Sisodia was on Thursday arrested by the Enforcement Directorate after hours of grilling for the second day in connection with the irregularities in Delhi's now-scrapped excise policy. The first round of Sisodia's questioning by the ED took place on March 7.
(With inputs from PTI)
