Delhi’s elected government took a crucial decision to regularise Kashmiri migrant teachers in the Cabinet: Atishi
BJP’s LG ordered that since it is a services related matter, the elected government of Delhi has no right to take final decisions on the same: Atishi
BJP spokesperson Pinky Anand was appointed by the LG Office to oppose the regularisation of Kashmiri migrant teachers, in the Supreme Court: Atishi
Kejriwal government removed every BJP impediment and provided permanent jobs to displaced Kashmiri teachers: Atishi
In the past 8 years since Narendra Modi’s BJP has held power in the Centre, it has staunchly opposed the rehabilitation of Kashmiri migrants: Atishi
The elected government of Delhi addressed and solved the grievances of displaced Kashmiris who had been lost for over 25 years: Saurabh Bhardwaj
BJP circulated a fake press release under fake name of one Dileep Bhan of Government Teachers Association; the real association states that everything about the PR is entirely fabricated: Saurabh Bhardwaj
In 2017, Kejriwal government submitted an undertaking to the High Court that it would implement a policy to regularise Kashmiri displaced teachers; however, the BJP’s LG opposed it: Saurabh Bhardwaj
Despite the Supreme Court’s order, the BJP-led MCD has yet to pay arrears to its Kashmiri displaced teachers: Saurabh Bhardwaj
New Delhi:
The Aam Aadmi Party today exposed the BJP’s two-facedness on the issue of Kashmiri Pandits and brought to the fore how the BJP and its stooges have been opposing the upliftment of the Kashmiri migrants. The party observed that the BJP has gone to an extent that it is circulating false information in the media in order to defame the Kejriwal Government. Senior AAP Leaders and MLAs Ms Atishi and Shri Saurabh Bhardwaj tore down the BJP’s claims and presented proofs of how BJP did not only forge letters but also forged identities for political mileage. Ms Atishi stated — The Kejriwal Government is doing its best to reform the life of Kashmiri migrants, but BJP’s LG and Home Ministry are hell bent on ruining their lives. It was the Kejriwal Government that people voted into power, and it was our government that offered permanent jobs to Kashmiri Migrant teachers. BJP’s LG ordered that since it is a services related matter, the elected government of Delhi has no right to take final decisions on the same. BJP Spokesperson Pinky Anand opposed the regularisation of Kashmiri migrant teachers when the SLP was filed. On one hand, the Kejriwal Government has tackled every hurdle that the BJP placed and gave permanent jobs to the displaced Kashmiri teachers. On the other hand, for the last 8 years that PM Modi and BJP have had power in the Centre, they have only used it to oppose the rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits. While, AAP Chief Spokesperson Shri Saurabh Bhardwaj stated – The government Delhi put in power by the public came forward and addressed the grievances of displaced Kashmiris who had been systematically harassed for 25 years. The BJP circulated a fake press release with the fake identity of one Dileep Bhan to defame the Kejriwal Government, but the real association of Kashmiri Teachers has exposed that everything BJP circulated is fabricated. In 2017, the Kejriwal Government submitted an undertaking in the High Court that it would implement a policy to regularise Kashmiri migrant teachers. However, the BJP’s LG strongly opposed it. Despite the Supreme Court’s order which applies on both the government and MCD schools, the BJP-led MCD has yet to pay arrears to its Kashmiri displaced teachers, while the Kejriwal Government has already fulfilled its duty.
AAP Senior Leader and MLA Ms Atishi said, “There has been a lot of politics in the name of the Kashmiri migrant teachers in Delhi over the past few days. The BJP as well as fake representatives on television debates claiming that they are Kashmiri migrant teachers are throwing around a narrative that the Kejriwal Government did not help the Kashmiri teachers. Today, we will expose BJP’s web of lies – of how BJP’s nominee and Delhi’s LG Anil Baijal, who wields the power regarding all service related matters like the recruitment, promotion, and regularisation of teachers in Delhi, not only did not support the Kashmiri migrant teachers, but also openly objected against their regularisation.”
She added, “When the Aam Aadmi Party Government was formed in Delhi, the Kashmiri migrant teachers approached CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal and Dy CM Shri Manish Sisodia with their grievances. In response to this, the Kejriwal Government repeatedly expressed its support for the migrants, and took decisions to propose their regularisation. However, when the Delhi High Court itself states that the Delhi Legislative Assembly has taken a decision to support regularisation of Kashmiri migrant teachers, the LG writes a note indicating that since it is a services related matter, the elected government of Delhi has no right to take final decisions on the same. Shri Arvind Kejriwal’s government took a very clear stance and decided to regularise these teachers in the Cabinet, and informed the High Court of its decision, after which the LG blatantly stated that this decision, concerning the Services Department, can only be taken by the LG Office and the Kejriwal Government hold no stake in it. Following this, the LG, a representative of the Centre, personally sends a signed note which states – ‘The matter was discussed with officers in the MHA, Govt of India, who deal with relief and rehabilitation issues of J&K migrants. It was informed that there is no special dispensation for regularisation of Kashmiri migrant teachers. Since there is no special dispensation for regularisation with even the Government of the Union of India, it may not be appropriate to regularise Kashmiri migrant teachers.’ This has been written by LG himself.”
She further stated, “When the High Court’s double bench again issues a judgement that the Kashmiri migrant teachers must be regularised, a file is sent to the LG that an SLP will be filed in the Supreme Court challenging the High Court’s orders. When this SLP was filed, Adv. Pinky Anand, the president of BJP’s legal cell and a well known spokeswoman for the BJP, came forward to represent the Delhi Government and the LG. Taking a look at all these documents concerning the matter, at least one thing is clear – While until yesterday we were stating that the BJP and the Centre had done nothing for the Kashmiri Pandits, but today we modify our statement. Today, we state that in the past eight years since Narendra Modi’s BJP has held power in the Centre, the BJP has staunchly opposed the rehabilitation of Kashmiri migrants, and done its best to interfere in the regularisation of their jobs. The BJP has not left a single stone unturned in the past eight years in troubling the ill-fated Kashmiri migrants – where a minor issue of the regularisation of 233 Kashmiri migrant teachers who endured a great deal of trouble to survive, was stretched for years and opposed by the BJP. Hence, it’s not that the BJP or its nominee, the LG of Delhi did absolutely nothing for the Kashmiri migrants, on the contrary it made sure that the rehabilitation and regularisation of these migrants was opposed, and played with the lives of Kashmiri migrants who were merely appealing for some normalcy in their tough and trying times.”
AAP Chief Spokesperson and MLA Shri Saurabh Bhardwaj added, “This issue began some 2 days ago, and very few people must be aware of the fact that elected government of Delhi took the required steps to solve the problems faced by the Kashmiri migrants, to regularise them, because CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal did not go around proclaiming what he believed was his duty. Neither did Dy CM Manish Sisodia announce on any occasion that we have done work for regularisation of Kashmiri migrant teachers. It was merely a duty that we fulfilled. This matter only truly came to public notice when discussing the plight of Kashmiri migrants, CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal stated that we addressed and solved the grievances of displaced people who had been lost for over 25 years. In response to this, the BJP immediately attacked the elected Delhi Government with 2 major accusations – One, they fabricated a press release, something they are veterans in, under the false name of one Dileep Bhan of Government School Teachers Association, stating that Shri Arvind Kejriwal’s government did not take a single step in helping the Kashmiri migrants, and their issues were solved only by the court. This press release was widely circulated by the BJP MPs, their IT Cell, and their entire organisation. Today, we are presenting the actual press release which was made by the Delhi Government Teachers Association, which clearly states that the other PR being circulated by the BJP, which is being debated over on many biassed news channels, is absolutely fake; that the person under whose name the press release was issued does not exist; that the letterhead, and everything else about the PR is entirely fabricated.”
He continued, “The second accusation that the BJP has made, which their leader Tejasvi Surya has written and many other leaders have echoed is that the Kashmiri migrant teachers did not get regularised easily, that they had to endure a lot of hardships by going from the street all the way up to the court in order to earn their rights. This, in fact, is true. However, the discussion about why the migrant teachers had to jump through so many hoops has been conveniently omitted in their accusation. The reason why the Kashmiri migrant teachers had to go to the High Court, the Division Bench, and the Apex Court is that – The Kejriwal Government in 2017 had submitted an undertaking in the High Court that it is introducing a policy for the regularisation of Kashmiri migrants. This is present in the High Court records, as our lawyers Sanjay Ghosh and Santosh Tripathi had submitted this undertaking. Post this, there was a state of unrest in the LG House. They got rid of the initially appointed lawyers, and replaced them with their own. They then issued a note stating that the matter concerns the Services Department which comes under the LG. Dy CM Shri Manish Sisodia, in fact, wrote a letter demanding the dismissal of unnecessary legalities on the matter, and that the Kejriwal Government has taken a policy decision in the interests of the Kashmiri migrants, so their jobs must be regularised. Despite this, BJP’s representative and Delhi’s LG went ahead and challenged this decision in the Supreme Court, where their own legal cell president Pinky Anand represented the case. In this manner, they stood against the rights of the Kashmiri migrants.”
He concluded, “This is the true face of the BJP. They are an organisation of incompetent and shameless liars, who fabricate the reality with such astounding confidence that a person feels almost convinced to believe that they are telling the truth. However, it is a saving grace that our nation depends on record keeping, and the files tell the simple truth. All documents point towards BJP’s misdeeds, their ill-intentions regarding the Kashmiri migrants, and words by the LG where he has gone as far as saying that when there is no such provision for regularisation in the Central Government for Kashmiri migrants, then how can the elected Government of Delhi take such steps, and hence their action must be challenged in the Supreme Court. Eventually, they were compelled to eat their own words and admit their truth. Then, the Delhi Government released their arrears and regularisation amount worth lacs and issued it on a back date. Another noteworthy instance is that despite the orders from the Supreme Court, the BJP that swore on lives of Kashmiri Pandits, who takes great pride in its patriotism, and which is in power in the MCD, did not issue the arrears of Kashmiri migrant teachers in MCD schools. This can easily be fact checked with a simple visit to an MCD teacher or the MCD commissioner, that while the Supreme Court order applied to both government and MCD school teachers, only the Kejriwal Government delivered on its duty. This is the BJP’s harsh truth that they have done nothing in the interests of the Kashmiri Pandits, or even any pandits in Delhi. They have only plotted conspiracies against them, caused encounters in UP, and this is the ugly reality of the BJP that it hides from the nation.”