Aam Aadmi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday challenged the BJP to compare 1,000 government schools each in Punjab and Gujarat, while accusing the party of using “doctored, AI videos” to defame Punjab’s schools.
In a video message, Kejriwal said he would provide a list of 1,000 schools in Punjab and asked the BJP to name 1,000 schools in Gujarat for a joint inspection, with the media covering the exercise.
"I challenge the BJP: You have been in power in Gujarat for 30 years, and we have been in power in Punjab for four and a half years. I will give you a list of 1,000 schools in Punjab, and you give us a list of 1,000 schools in Gujarat. Let us inspect these schools together and see which ones are better," Kejriwal said in a video message.
He alleged that BJP-ruled states were focusing on criticising Punjab's schools instead of improving their own education infrastructure.
"Within just four and a half years, we have made the schools of Punjab so good. There are around 19,700 schools in Punjab, of which only 500 schools remain. We have made the remaining 19,200 schools very good. Work is in progress in those 500 schools as well, and they too will be fixed within the next one-and-a-half to two years," Kejriwal said.
Kejriwal claimed Punjab's school education system had witnessed a major turnaround since the AAP came to power in 2022, when the state ranked 28th.
"We did not improve schools alone; the people of Punjab improved Punjab's schools. The teachers of Punjab improved them, the principals of Punjab improved them, the parents and children -- all of them together improved them," Kejriwal said.
(With inputs from PTI)