Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to a government school in Gujarat ahead of assembly elections in the state drew eyes on social media today. The event was part of the launch of a scheme meant to modernise Gujarat’s public school system. But the optics was clear, and it was not missed by Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party, which is emerging as the BJP’s biggest rival in the Gujarat.
“It might be 75 years after Independence, but we are happy that government schools and education for the poor is not part of the mainstream political discourse. This is our biggest achievement,” Mr Kejriwal said.
Images from the occasion in Gandhinagar showed the Prime Minister sitting in a model classroom with students, as a lesson appeared to be in progress. Later, in his speech to a gathering of government school teachers from across Gujarat, he said, “The New Education Policy will pull the country out of the slave mentality surrounding the English language”.
Mr Kejriwal suggested that the Prime Minister should use AAP’s expertise to upgrade government schools across the country.
