New Delhi, (Samajweekly) Jailed former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Thursday wrote a letter from inside Tihar Jail, saying “jail politics has the upper hand in today’s politics but tomorrow’s politics will hover around education”.
“Today, the politics of jail seems to be successful, but the future of India’s politics lies in education. Education is also in politics. India will become the Vishwaguru not because of how much strength the jails have, but because of the power of education in the country. In today’s politics of India, the politics of jail has a heavy upper hand, but the coming days will be the education of politics,” Sisodia wrote in the letter “addressed to the countrymen”.
“While working as the Education Minister of Delhi, many times the question kept arising in my mind why the leaders who reached power at national and state level did not make arrangements for excellent schools and colleges for every child in the country?
“… as I have been in jail now for a few days, I am getting answers to such questions. I can see that when success in politics is being achieved by driving a jail, then why does anyone feel the need for the politics of running a school,” the former deputy CM wrote in the letter.
He further said “Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s guilt is much more terrible as he introduced a new form of politics that challenges Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s approach”.
“As a result, two members of Kejriwal’s government are currently imprisoned,” he said.
“The politics of jail boosts the power of the ruling leader. However, the issue with the politics of education is that it empowers the nation, not the individual leader”.
He said that if every child, regardless of their family background, receives education and becomes a responsible citizen, the country will progress.
“Fortunately, during this period of freedom, the country has two contrasting political approaches- politics of jail and politics of education. As a result, it’s clear to the nation which approach benefits the individual leader and which benefits the country as a whole,” he said.
He noted that the politics of education is gaining popularity among voters in the country.
“The success of education in Delhi has influenced the voters of Punjab, who voted for better education, government schools, and colleges. Non-BJP and non-Congress state governments have started to learn from each other’s experiences and experiments on education. Even BJP-ruled states, with poorly managed government schools, have started advertising education on TV. The leaders know that once education becomes a national priority, the politics of jails will be marginalised, and jails will start closing down,” he said.
He concluded that he believes that India’s future lies in the politics of education, not in the politics of jail.
