The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday made a major revelation, exposing a nexus between Delhi’s BJP government and private schools. Former Delhi CM and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Delhi Assembly, Atishi, revealed that on Sunday, 6 April at 1 PM, a meeting was held at Education Minister Ashish Sood’s residence with top private school owners.
Atishi shared that in this meeting, the schools were assured there would be no action against fee hikes, and that the BJP-led Delhi government would soon issue an order allowing private schools to raise fees by 10% annually. She questioned the BJP Minister: Whether such a meeting took place, whether this assurance was given, and how much money he had taken from private schools to betray Delhi’s parents.
During a press conference, Delhi Assembly LoP Atishi stated, “Parents across Delhi are in a state of panic as private schools have increased their fees significantly. Many schools have hiked fees by 30%, 40%, even 50%, 60%, and in some cases, up to 80%.”
“In this unbearable summer heat, with temperatures soaring to 40 degrees, parents are forced to stand outside school gates in protest. Just yesterday, during one such protest, a woman fainted. Despite this, the school management didn’t open the gate or listen to the parents’ concerns,” said Atishi.
She further said, “These are the very same private schools that had distributed laddoos inside their campuses to celebrate the BJP’s victory in elections. Why were they so thrilled with the BJP’s win?”
“Because they knew that for the last ten years, Delhi had a government that stood with parents and protected their rights. But now, with the BJP in power, private school owners believe their government has finally arrived,” asserted the Delhi Assembly LoP.
Referring to a recent revelation, Atishi said, “Yesterday, Saurabh Bharadwaj exposed, with solid evidence, how Bharat Arora—the President of the Action Committee of Private Unaided Schools—is also a BJP functionary. He actively campaigned for BJP leader Rekha Gupta during the elections and sought votes for the party. This clearly shows the deep nexus between the BJP and private school owners.”
Atishi stated, “There is a full-blown collusion between the BJP and the private school lobby, and this collusion is operating through Bharat Arora. The same private schools association that had been fighting with the AAP government for a decade to allow fee hikes has now been exposed. It is essentially an arm of the BJP. These school owners are not just BJP supporters—they are registered members of the party.”
“That is why we are witnessing an uncontrolled surge in private school fees in Delhi today,” said Atishi, linking the fee hikes directly to this collusion. She added, “And in this context, we have now received very serious information from credible sources about a recent development.”
She revealed, “On Sunday, April 6, at 1 PM, a meeting took place at the residence of BJP Minister Ashish Sood. In this meeting, private school owners were assured that no strict action would be taken against them. They were told that while the issue is currently in the spotlight because of parents’ protests and AAP raising it publicly, once the matter cools down, a formal order will be issued by the Delhi Government.”
“According to what was discussed in that meeting,” Atishi said, “the upcoming order will grant every private school in Delhi blanket permission to raise fees by 10% every year. In the history of Delhi, such open-ended freedom has never been granted to private schools.”
The former Delhi CM highlighted that for the past ten years, the AAP had been fighting against these private schools—keeping their fees under control, challenging them in court, getting their accounts audited through the CAG and empanelled auditors. And wherever a school had collected unjustified fees, we ensured that the money was refunded.
“But today, private school owners are being assured that as soon as the matter cools down, a formal order will be issued giving them a free hand to increase their fees by 10% every year. So today, I want to ask a few questions to Ashish Sood, who seems to have taken on the role of Delhi’s ‘Education Minister for Private Schools,’” asserted the Delhi Assembly LoP.
She asked, “First, I want Ashish Sood to answer—did a meeting take place at his residence on Sunday, 6th April at 1 PM, where prominent private school owners and their management were present? Second, did he assure them that an official order would soon be issued, granting them the right to increase fees by 10% annually, without any need for prior permission or audit?”
Her third question was: “How much money did you take from these private school owners to betray the parents of Delhi like this? To sell out their interests and force them onto the streets in protest—how much were you paid? Ashish Sood must tell every Delhiite the truth.”
Atishi said it is now absolutely clear that there is a deep and organised nexus between private school owners and the BJP. “The key link in this collusion is Bharat Arora, who is not only the Chairman of the Action Committee of Private Unaided Schools but also heads the Mount Abu Group of Schools. This nexus is being operationalised through him,” she said.
“At this point, private school owners have even been given a clear assurance that they will soon receive formal permission to hike fees at will, without any need for approvals,” concluded Atishi.
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