Akali Dal slams Punjab govt for spending Rs 35 crore on installing 25,000 plaques in schools

IANS April 7, 2025 241 views

The Shiromani Akali Dal has launched a scathing attack on the AAP government's decision to spend Rs 35 crore on installing 25,000 plaques in Punjab schools. Party leader Daljit Singh Cheema argues that the project is a wasteful exercise that diverts resources from critical educational needs like filling teacher vacancies. He accuses the government of importing corrupt Delhi leaders to manage local school projects and turning teachers into social media propagandists. The criticism highlights deeper tensions between the Akali Dal and the ruling AAP in Punjab's political landscape.

"The Delhi education model is a failed one" - Daljit Singh Cheema, Akali Dal Leader
Chandigarh, April 7: The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Monday said the Aam Aadmi Party government's decision to spend Rs 35 crore in installing 25,000 plaques for minor projects in Punjab government schools and conduct functions to unveil them was a scam in the making.

Key Points

1

Akali Dal criticizes AAP's massive plaque installation spending

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Alleges corruption in school project management

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Highlights misuse of educational resources

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Calls out involvement of Delhi leaders

In a statement here, party leader Daljit Singh Cheema said it was condemnable that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had handed over responsibility for conducting the minor works as well as bringing truck-loads of plaques and holding parent-teacher meetings to unveil the projects to party leaders from Delhi who were charged with corruption and had even done jail terms for various crimes.

"The AAP government has 92 legislators in the state Assembly, but it has not found anyone competent to lead the work and has given this responsibility to Delhi leader Manish Sisodia and others. The Chief Minister has been reduced to escorting the Delhi leaders to schools and hospitals. The outsiders, who have no stake in governance, are framing policies to run the schools and hospitals," he said.

Asserting that the scheme was nothing but a naked attempt to funnel the state taxpayers' money to Delhi, Cheema said: "Everyone knows that the Delhi education model is a failed one. There is no sense in trying to replicate it in Punjab except to indulge in a scam through corrupt practices."

The Akali leader also condemned the manner in which government school teachers were being forced to put up plaques for extremely minor repair works, which amounted to wasting precious resources which could have been used to fill more than 60,000 vacancies, as well as introduce modern educational aids in the government schools.

Cheema also castigated the AAP government for forcing teachers to become social media workers of the government. He said teachers had been asked to open Twitter and Facebook accounts and share AAP government posts with hashtags as part of an exercise to divert the attention of the public from the failure of the government on all fronts.

"I appeal to Punjabis to rise up to safeguard the education sector and prevent the AAP government from destroying it by indulging in such stunts," he added.

Reader Comments

R
Rajesh K.
This is ridiculous! ₹35 crore could have been used to improve infrastructure or hire more teachers. Plaques won't educate our children. The priorities are all wrong here. 😠
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Priya M.
While I support recognizing good work, this seems excessive. Couldn't they have done digital plaques or something more cost-effective? The money could have been better spent elsewhere.
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Harpreet S.
As a teacher, I'm appalled by this waste of resources. We struggle daily with lack of basic supplies, and now they want us to focus on plaques and social media? Education should be the priority!
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Amit J.
I think we should wait for the government's response before jumping to conclusions. Maybe there's more to this story that we're not seeing. Transparency is key here.
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Simran D.
The real issue is why Delhi leaders are involved in Punjab's education matters. We voted for local representatives to handle these things. This doesn't sit right with me. 🤔
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Vikram P.
While I generally support AAP, this seems like a misstep. The party should focus on substance over symbolism. Teachers should teach, not manage social media campaigns. Hope they reconsider this approach.

We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.

Tags:
Punjab Politics Akali Dal AAP Bhagwant Mann Education Funding Manish Sisodia
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