In a blistering attack on the BJP-led Delhi government, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has pointed out that CM Rekha Gupta is only doing lip service in the name of action over the controversial private school fee hikes. Senior AAP leader and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Delhi Assembly, Atishi, has directly challenged the Chief Minister to stop “pretending to act” by issuing notices, and instead pass an immediate order halting the fee hikes across all schools. She demanded that no additional fees should be collected from parents until the government completes a thorough audit of private school finances.
Posting on social media platform X, Delhi Assembly LoP Atishi said, “Rekha Gupta ji, I challenge you to immediately issue an order stopping all increased school fees with immediate effect. Until a thorough audit of school accounts is conducted, no private school should be allowed to charge hiked fees. If Rekha Gupta ji is hand-in-glove with private schools, no such order will be issued. But if there is no collusion, this order can be passed today itself.”
The AAP has strongly condemned the BJP government in Delhi for allowing private schools to increase fees unchecked. Several private schools have raised fees by an alarming 60 to 80 percent, placing immense financial stress on families.
“Private schools are pressuring parents to deposit the hiked fees immediately, and those who are unable to do so are being harassed. Parents are being forced to take to the streets in protest against this tyranny, yet not a single BJP minister or MLA has come forward to support them. It is clear that this unchecked exploitation is happening because of the BJP government’s collusion with private school lobbies,” the party said in a statement.
The AAP highlighted the contrast between the current situation and the governance model under former CM Arvind Kejriwal, stating that fee regulation was strictly enforced during his tenure.
“For ten years under Arvind Kejriwal’s government, no private school was allowed to arbitrarily increase fees. Strict audits of school accounts were carried out, and in cases where schools had overcharged parents, the excess amount was refunded. Never during this period did parents have to protest on the streets about fee hikes. But ever since the BJP came to power in Delhi, private schools have been given a free hand to exploit parents,” AAP stated.
The Aam Aadmi Party reiterated its demand that the Delhi government immediately stop all fee hikes until school accounts are audited, and called on CM Rekha Gupta to prove she is not complicit in this exploitation by acting decisively today.
