New Delhi

‘BJP will make higher education easier’

Photo: V. Sudershan

Senior BJP leader V. K. Malhotra addressing a press conference in New Delhi on Tuesday.

NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party’s Chief Ministerial candidate for Delhi, Vijay Kumar Malhotra, has identified strengthening of education as a key development issue in the Capital.

Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Prof. Malhotra said the Capital had a large population of young people and access to good education at all levels was their fundamental right. “The Congress Government has paid no attention to this vital issue during the past ten years,” he charged.

Asserting that higher education was the engine that moved the coaches of the train of education, Prof. Malhotra said: “Although the number of eligible candidates passing out of Class XII from Delhi-based schools has more than doubled during the past one decade and a large number of students from other States are coming to the city for higher education, the Delhi Government has not added a single college in the State University system during its two terms in office.”

Pointing out that the BJP Government had established 18 colleges, the senior BJP leader said the situation now was that students with even 70 per cent marks in the Central Board of Secondary Education were denied admission and forced to opt for very expensive education.

“The Congress Government under Sheila Dikshit has forced higher education to go under the control of private players making it difficult for common middle class parents to afford higher education for their wards,” he said.

Asserting that education would receive maximum support if his party was voted to power in the upcoming elections, Prof. Malhotra said he would persuade Delhi University to establish 50 new colleges and create evening/afternoon shift in existing colleges.

“Indraprastha University was created during the BJP regime in April 1998. The BJP Government also established an engineering college, Mahila Institute of Technology. All that the Sheila Dikshit has done is to rename I P University as Guru Govind Singh Indrarastha University and MIT as Indira Gandhi Institute of Technology,” he said.

Prof. Malhotra asserted that the I P University would be persuaded to establish more professional colleges like engineering, medical, management, Information Technology and bio-technology.

Prof. Malhotra blamed the Sheila Government and the Delhi Jal Board for the miserable state of drinking water supply in the city. Accusing the Government of making “half-hearted” arrangements for supplying water to treatment plants, he said this had resulted in loss of almost half of untreated water.

“During BJP rule, a plan was introduced to make available water to Delhi by the Bhakra Beas Management Board for which a payment of about Rs.125 crore was made to the Haryana Government. But the Congress Government has not been able to strengthen the canal carrying the water. The expenditure on strengthening the canal is said to have now increased to Rs.500 crore,” he said. “Even in the 21st Century, about two-thirds population of Delhi remain deprived of clean drinking water. Whatever quantity of water is made available, its quality is so poor that many people are falling prey to various ailments,” Prof. Malhotra added.

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