Anti-national powers against quality education for Dalits sent Sisodia to jail: CM Kejriwal

Addressing an event to mark Ambedkar Jayanti here, Kejriwal said Ambedkar dreamt of quality education for all in government schools, but "these people ruined government schools in the last 75 years and private schools mushroomed in the country".

New Delhi:Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said some "anti-national" people in the country sent Manish Sisodia to jail because they do not want quality education for Dalit and underprivileged children.

Kejriwal also said he holds B R Ambedkar in higher regard than Mahatma Gandhi because of his unshakable resolve in the face of adversities in pursuit of education. Addressing an event to mark Ambedkar Jayanti here, Kejriwal said Ambedkar dreamt of quality education for all in government schools, but "these people ruined government schools in the last 75 years and private schools mushroomed in the country".

"God sent a man named Manish Sisodia to correct this wrong. He would go on a round of Delhi schools starting at 6 am. He turned things around within five years. We can say Amdekar's dream is being realized in Delhi. "But some anti-national powers don't want the country to progress. Who are these people who do not want Dalit students to get good education. All these people together sent Sisodia to jail. These people are enemies of the country," he alleged.

He added that those who dared to revolutionize the education sector in the past were imprisoned by autocrats. Kejriwal said some people also got the Jai Bhim Mukhyamantri Pratibha Vikas Yojana stalled but he will get the scheme resumed in a month. Free coaching is given to underprivileged students under the scheme.

The Delhi CM said India gave birth to many great personalities but "Ambedkar was the brightest of them all". "We decided to keep photos of Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh in all government offices. Many people said I forgot Gandhiji. No, I did not. I respect Gandhiji a lot. He fought for the country, made sacrifices, he was a great personality but I respect Ambedkar more.

"Ambedkar was born in a very poor family. He faced a lot of trouble in school, but he didn't stop studying. He went on to study at Columbia University in the US in 1913. You have the internet today. You can search on google. You know about Columbia University. How did he get to know about the university in that era? This perplexes me. This is nothing but magic," he said. (PTI)