Union minister of law and justice Kiren Rijiju recently tweeted a clip of Delhi education minister Atishi Marlena admonishing authorities of a school for its poor maintenance during an apparent inspection. Atishi is seen pointing to a ladder in a classroom and asking, “How will children study in such a school?”. Atishi also addressed the Principal’s absence and says “What kind of situation is this where even your principal doesn’t come to the school?”. In his tweet, Rijiju takes a dig at Delhi’s former education minister Manish Sisodia by claiming that Atishi had ‘publicly exposed’ Delhi’s ‘world-class’ school models. (Archive)
Kejriwal Ji said Sisodia was the best Education Minister in india & Delhi’s School models are World class!
I’m told, the new Education Minister of Delhi Atishi has publicly exposed both Kejriwal and Sisodia !! pic.twitter.com/4RvKHMkwF6— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) April 15, 2023
Netta D’Souza, the acting president of Mahila Congress, also tweeted the clip with the same claim. (Archive)
दिल्ली के पूर्व शराब & शिक्षा मंत्री मनीष सिसोदिया के वर्ल्ड क्लास शिक्षा मॉडल का पर्दाफ़ाश उनकी ही पार्टी की नई शिक्षा मंत्री, आतिशी कर रही हैं।
केजरीवाल ने परसों ही दिल्ली के शिक्षा मॉडल को वर्ल्ड क्लास बताया था।
आतिशी झूठ बोल रही हैं या केजरीवाल, सिसोदिया की जोड़ी?#AAPLies pic.twitter.com/gj2PdjJmwq
— Netta D’Souza (@dnetta) April 12, 2023
The national coordinator for Congress’s social media & digital communications, Nitin Agarwal, too, tweeted the clip with the same claim. He called it the ‘truth behind Kejriwal’s so-called education revolution’. (Archive)
दिल्ली के पूर्व शिक्षा मंत्री मनीष सिसोदिया के वर्ल्ड क्लास शिक्षा मॉडल का पर्दाफ़ाश उनकी ही पार्टी की नई शिक्षा मंत्री कर रही हैं।
देखिये दिल्ली सरकार की दयनीय शिक्षा व्यवस्था और केजरीवाल की तथाकथित शिक्षा क्रांति का सच! pic.twitter.com/wBQPwD4Wz7
— Nitin Agarwal (@nitinagarwalINC) April 12, 2023
The clip is also viral on Facebook with the same claim, both in Hindi and English.
Fact Check
We noted that Atishi quote-tweeted Rijiju and refuted the allegations levelled against Manish Sisodia and the Aam Aadmi Party government. She stated that the school was registered under the Municipal Corporation of Delhi which was run by the Bharatiya Janata Party for 15+ years.
Its a pity that @KirenRijiju ji isn’t aware that this school was under MCD, which was ruled by BJP for 15+ years, till 2023
Had his party spent more time on education than on falsely prosecuting AAP leaders, perhaps their schools wouldn’t have been in such a pathetic state. https://t.co/72bZXtpeY7
— Atishi (@AtishiAAP) April 16, 2023
Upon a keyword search, we found a YouTube live-stream of Atishi and Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi inspecting the dilapidated school. The viral clip starts at the 1:20 minute mark of the live-stream. In the video, Atishi can be seen conducting an inspection of the school and pointing out the inadequate facilities. She visits various classrooms where she notices that some of the students are sitting on the floor because there are not enough desks. Additionally, the bathrooms lack doors, and there is no drinking water available for the students. Atishi also observes that the classrooms are in a filthy state. She contacts the principal and the additional director of the zone during her visit. At the end of her inspection, she asks the additional director to take necessary actions at the earliest.
At 9:22 of the video, Shelly Oberoi is heard telling the Principal, “There are so many mosquitoes in a school under the MCD. The responsibility of MCD itself is to prevent diseases like Dengue, Malaria caused by mosquito bites”. The title and the description of the YouTube video also mention that the school is an MCD school.
At the beginning of the video, the school board is shown. The identifying code mentioned on it is 1253404 with the name MCPS Wazirabad Village – II and postal code 110084.
Atishi also tweeted a clip of the inspection through her official handle. The name of the school is mentioned as MCD Primary School, Wazirabad Village-II.
According to the information found on the website of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation, the school in question (identified through the code) falls under the jurisdiction of the MCD. As per the information available on the official website of the Delhi Education Department, the school is registered as a primary school for boys.
A board outside the school reads दिल्ली नगर निगम प्राथमिक विद्यालय which translates to Delhi Municipal Corporation Primary School. The following image was added to Street view in March 2022.
It’s pertinent to note that the Aam Aadmi Party won the Delhi Municipal polls recently, in December 2022, putting an end to the BJP’s 15-year rule over the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) since 2007. According to the State Election Commission, the AAP won 134 seats, while the BJP secured 104 seats and the Congress won nine.
To conclude, Union law and justice minister Kiren Rijiju, among others, tweeted a clip of Delhi education minister Atishi Marlena and mayor Shelly Oberoi conducting an unexpected inspection at a primary school in Delhi with a view to criticizing the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and former Delhi education minister Manish Sisodia for the dilapidated state of the school. However, the school in question is under the jurisdiction of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), which was governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for 15 years until the AAP won the MCD elections in December 2022.
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