Rajya Sabha election: Delhi High Court cases rebut AAP claims about Sushil Kumar Gupta’s credentials

New Delhi: Skeletons are tumbling out of the cupboard of Ganga International School in New Delhi, run under the chairmanship of Aam Aadmi Party’s Rajya Sabha nominee Sushil Kumar Gupta, as serious allegations of exploitation teachers surface. [caption id=“attachment_4285993” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  AAP Rajya Sabha nominee Sushil Kumar Gupta with Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. Image courtesy Gupta’s website[/caption] According to allegations, the school authorities have not paid many of its teachers arrears of salary payable as per the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission despite a Delhi High Court order to do so. The high order read, “Petitioner will get the entire payment of salary as per the Sixth Pay Commission Report prospectively and continuously from the date of three years before filing of the writ petition till the filing on 1.5.2015 and the petitioner accordingly will be entitled to her salary in terms of the Sixth Pay Commission Report as applicable to schools by the order of the Director of Education dated 11.2.2009, and which amounts will be again determined by the Director of Education or his nominee." The allegations are seen in sharp contrast to AAP’s claims about Gupta’s formidable contribution in the field of health and education. Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia hailed Gupta as a social worker while announcing the names of the AAP’s Rajya Sabha nominees at a press conference on Wednesday. “He has contributed to the education sector by running charitable schools in 14 districts of Delhi and Haryana and he provides free education to 15,000 children,” said Sisodia.

Though the deputy chief minister abstained from mentioning the names of the charitable schools run by Gupta, the website of the Rajya Sabha nominee shows his involvement with more than 25 private schools, educational trusts and NGOs. The school, which tops the list of educational institutes he is associated with, is Ganga International School, Hiran Kudna, which is a senior secondary co-educational residential school. The expenses of studying in this school as a day scholar could be as high as Rs 5,845 per month and as a boarder, a student has to bear more than Rs 3,25,520 a year as boarding expenses. At present three cases filed by the teachers against the authorities of the Ganga International School raising allegations of depriving them of due benefits under the provisions of the Sixth Pay Commission are being heard in the Delhi High Court. Sources in the school on condition of anonymity said that despite the order of the Delhi High Court the school is yet to clear all its salary dues to the teachers and consequently three of them have filed an appeal in the high court. Ashok Agarwal who argued the case in favour of the petitioners and also once the member of the executive council of AAP said to Firstpost that AAP is governed like a private limited company. “It is very much possible that Rajya Sabha nominations are also decisions taken like the way taken in a private limited company,” Agarwal said.