The Delhi BJP on Friday alleged that Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had “deliberately misled” the House in a “sustained and planned manner” over giving weightage to guest teachers.
Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta and SAD-BJP MLA from Rajouri Garden Manjinder Singh Sirsa further alleged that the Delhi government had “hid” facts related to the issue despite committing to the judiciary that it cannot give weightage to guest teachers.
‘Govt was never serious’
“It knowingly concealed the fact that it had already committed in the Delhi High Court that the guest teachers cannot be given any weightage and that they would be 'considered in accordance with recruitment rules at par with other candidates',” Mr. Gupta alleged.
“The Deputy Chief Minister, yesterday, elaborately informed the House that the decision on not giving weightage to the guest teachers was taken unilaterally by the Lieutenant-Governor without consulting the government. The government went to the extent of resolving to put on hold the recruitment process of teachers till the weightage criteria is taken into account,” he said.
However, the LoP argued, the government had “never been serious” about regularisation of teachers or giving them weightage and “intentionally misled” on the issue from the very beginning.
The Delhi Cabinet, according to Mr. Gupta, in its meeting on October 6, 2015, recommended giving weightage to guest teachers when there was a stay on the same at the Rajasthan High Court.
‘Make intent clear’
“Given this, the L-G had, on May 30, 2016, conveyed to the government the opinion of the Additional Solicitor General that no weightage can be given to guest teachers. However the Supreme Court, in August, 2016, clarified that it has not prohibited the State from giving weightage for the services rendered by employees where services were used by the States either temporarily or on ad hoc basis, irrespective of regularity of their initial entry into the service,” he said.
Had the government been serious on the issue of giving weightage to guest teachers, the LoP maintained, it would have informed the Delhi High Court of its intent to do so and informed it that the Supreme Court had clarified that there is no prohibition in giving weightage to service rendered by guest teachers.
“It is pertinent to note that the Delhi government, which is claiming ignorance of the issue of weightage and blaming the L-G, had through its counsel Gautam Narain submitted the inability of the government to give any weightage to guest teachers and to consider them at par with other candidates. It is the hypocrisy of the government to now shed tears for the guest teachers,” the senior BJP leader said.
