Delhi Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, along with other Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders, on Monday took a foot march from the Vidhan Sabha to the LG house, demanding “teachers should be allowed to go to Finland”.
The Delhi government has called a three-day special assembly session amid the ongoing tussle over the powers of ruling the national capital, starting Monday.
Meanwhile, LG Vinai Kumar Saxena reiterated that he has not rejected the proposal, but asked the government to evaluate and record the cost-benefit analysis to assess its effectiveness.
“It is reiterated that the LG has not rejected the proposal for the training program for primary in-charges in Finland. Any statement, on the contrary, is deliberately misleading and mischievously motivated,” LG Saxena stated.
“The government has been advised to evaluate the proposal in its entirety and record the cost-benefit analysis in terms of impact on the quality of education being provided to students, to assess the effectiveness of various foreign training programmes for teachers undertaken in the past,” LG said.
LG has also advised examining and identifying similar training programmes in the Institutions of Excellence, within the country, to ensure optimal utilisation of resources, fiscal prudence, and administrative effectiveness, LG Delhi stated.
Earlier, the Delhi Legislative Assembly was disrupted over the issue as the AAP legislators raised slogans against the LG for rejecting the proposal. Later, the assembly session was adjourned until Tuesday.
Kejriwal and other AAP MLAs then led a foot march from the Vidhan Sabha to the LG house with banners and hoardings demanding “teachers should be allowed to go to Finland”.
AAP leaders said that LG Saxena refused to meet with the CM and MLAs. CM Kejriwal later tweeted, “The people of Delhi will not tolerate dictatorship. LG will have to obey the Constitution and the orders of the Supreme Court. “Delhi does not require dictatorship, but rather a constitution and democracy; our struggle for people’s rights will continue.”
While talking to the media, Kejriwal said: “We represent the two crore people of Delhi. It is not right for the LG to consider himself superior and to insult the people of Delhi, whom he too serves.”
“If the elected government is sending teachers to Finland with taxpayer money, why does LG have a problem with it? The people of Delhi elected their Chief Minister and gave him a majority. If he is unable to send teachers for training, it calls into question the purpose of such elections and democratic processes,” CM Kejriwal said.
“On July 4, the Supreme Court ruled that the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi does not have the power to make decisions on his own, yet he is preventing teachers from going to Finland for training. The LG’s actions suggest that he does not respect the Supreme Court’s ruling,” CM Kejriwal alleged.