Parents raised issue of fee hikes at Town Hall, BJP's Education Minister lost his temper: Saurabh Bharadwaj

New Delhi: The BJP government in Delhi may be beating its chest about the school fee law as a ‘shield’ for parents, but the moment parents questioned it, Education Minister Ashish Sood’s real face was exposed. At a town hall in his Janakpuri constituency, when a parent raised the issue of fee hikes, the minister lost his cool and bluntly said — “If you want to leave, then leave.” AAP Delhi State President Saurabh Bharadwaj and former Education Minister Manish Sisodia shared this video of the conversation on social media platform X and launched a sharp attack on the BJP.

Expressing his anguish, Manish Sisodia wrote on X: "The parents of Delhi whose children study in private schools have been deeply insulted by Delhi’s Education Minister. If anyone still believes that the BJP will not destroy the future of their children, they must watch this video. First, they bring a black law favouring private schools that allows parents to be looted, and when those very parents raise questions about their rights, they are called only to be humiliated. My heart weeps when I think of the future of Delhi’s children in the hands of such a government and such an Education Minister.”

Addressing a press conference along with Burari MLA Sanjeev Jha, AAP Delhi Unit President Saurabh Bharadwaj stated, “We all saw how, without any consultation, without talking to any parents’ associations, and without any public consultation, the BJP’s Delhi government made a law secretly and imposed it on the people of Delhi. The opposition parties kept asking for information about it, but nothing was shared. Parents’ associations kept demanding details, but no information was given. Finally, the law was brought and passed in the Delhi Assembly.”

Highlighting flaws in the law, the AAP Delhi Unit Chief said, “This law has many shortcomings, which we have been pointing out continuously. Parents’ associations kept requesting time from the Chief Minister, but no time was given. They tried to meet Ashish Sood, but were not allowed.”

Saurabh Bharadwaj said that just two-three days ago, Delhi’s Education Minister Ashish Sood organised a Town Hall meeting in his constituency Janakpuri and said that he would discuss this law with parents and take questions. A day earlier, we had tweeted that this is just a publicity stunt and that parents were not being invited, but people were being brought only to clap for him.

Commenting on the Education Minister’s conduct in footage of the event, Saurabh Bharadwaj said, “You saw how Ashish Sood behaved with parents. This happened in a Town Hall he himself called, promising to take questions. But when parents asked questions, he told them to give it in writing — though till today he hasn’t answered a single written question. In that meeting, parents were being threatened, mobile phones were banned, and police officers were deployed to prevent parents from recording anything. The few recordings that exist were taken secretly.”

He continued, “Just look at Ashish Sood’s language — he said, ‘I have set up this stage, I am serving the food, so I will do my publicity, not yours.’ Is this the language of a Minister? Are such people fit to be Education Ministers in Delhi? I believe he himself needs education. Such language and such behaviour is shameful.”

Concluding his remarks, Saurabh Bharadwaj said, “Never before in Delhi have we seen such an attitude from a government. What this government is showing today is outright goondaism and bullying. They are trying to run Delhi through intimidation and are bent on crushing the middle class.”

Saurabh Bharadwaj shared a video clip of Education Minister Ashish Sood’s town hall on X, stating: “This is Education Minister Ashish Sood’s town hall where he is lashing out at parents for asking questions. A town hall is meant for answering questions, but here parents were only called to listen to a speech. This school fees law has been made for school owners and has given legal cover to the exploitation of parents. The moment the BJP government came, private schools arbitrarily hiked fees. They claimed they would bring a law, but no consultation was held with any parents’ body, no public consultation was done.”

Meanwhile, Burari MLA Sanjeev Jha stated, “When this Bill came to the Assembly, we not only opposed it but also gave amendments. We told the government that perhaps they had made mistakes and as legislators, we suggested ways to make the Bill pro-people. We proposed amendments and insisted on voting. We even called for a division of votes to see who stood with the education mafia.”

He asserted, “Sadly, the entire BJP government sided with the education mafia and rejected all our amendments, passing a Bill that exploits parents. This is perhaps the first law in the country where even the option of going to court has been denied. Complaints will be nearly impossible because requiring 15% parents to come together is unrealistic. We had suggested voting in parents’ associations, but not a single amendment or suggestion was accepted.”

“The entire power rests only with the Minister and the Director of Education, making the Education Minister the centre of corruption. Parents won’t even have the option of approaching courts. This Bill not only exploits parents but also legalises the loot by private schools and gives protection to the education mafia,” added Sanjeev Jha.

Parents Expose Sham ‘Town Hall’: Minister Came to Speak, Not Listen

Saurabh Bharadwaj proceeded to show some videos of what really happened in that so-called Town Hall meeting when real parents tried to raise questions in front of the Education Minister. It could be seen that the Education Minister was intimidating the parents.

Parents were saying their points were valid but were being dismissed. Parents asked why they had been called if their points were not to be heard. Many were upset that the meeting was announced as a Town Hall with parents, but in reality, their concerns were not addressed. Parents from different schools who came with their issues said they were only made to listen to the Minister’s speech, with no answers given. Parents said that the Education Minister told them clearly: ‘I have come here to make you listen, not to listen to you.’ This proves it was never meant to be a genuine discussion.

Parents further said, “We were assured earlier by Rekha Gupta at the Delhi Secretariat that a meeting would be held with parents before the Bill was passed, but this promise was broken. Now they are saying parents will have to go to committees, but no PDA elections have been held in schools so far. We ask the Education Minister and DOE whether they can guarantee that PDA elections will be held in all schools, committees will be formed properly, and the issue of arbitrary fee hikes will be rolled back instead of being legitimised.”

Parents pointed out that if the law requires five parents in committees, why should they be selected through a draw? Why not through a fair election? Just as MPs and MLAs are elected, parents too should be elected. They also raised objections to the 15% clause. Parents said a fair election and genuine participation is the only way to ensure their voices are heard.