Compare 1,000 schools in Punjab, Gujarat: Kejriwal's open challenge to BJP

Aam Aadmi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday threw an "open challenge" to the BJP to compare 1,000 schools in Punjab and Gujarat. He also alleged that the BJP was using "doctored, AI videos" to defame Punjab government schools.In a video message, the former Delhi Chief Minister said the comparison should be carried out jointly and proposed that the press cover the exercise. He said the BJP had been in power in Gujarat for 30 years, while the AAP had been in power in Punjab for four-and-a-half years."I challenge the BJP: You have been in power in Gujarat for 30 years, and we have been in power in Punjab for four and a half years. I will give you a list of 1,000 schools in Punjab, and you give us a list of 1,000 schools in Gujarat. Let us inspect these schools together and see which ones are better," Kejriwal said.He alleged that BJP governments, instead of improving their own schools, had been defaming schools in Punjab. "Within just four and a half years, we have made the schools of Punjab so good. There are around 19,700 schools in Punjab, of which only 500 schools remain. We have made the remaining 19,200 schools very good. Work is in progress in those 500 schools as well, and they too will be fixed within the next one-and-a-half to two years," he said. Kejriwal also said that when the AAP came to power in Punjab in 2022, the state was in 28th position, but there had been a turnaround since then."We did not improve schools alone; the people of Punjab improved Punjab's schools. The teachers of Punjab improved them, the principals of Punjab improved them, the parents and children -- all of them together improved them," he said. Kejriwal's remarks centred on his challenge to the BJP to compare schools in Punjab and Gujarat, while defending the Punjab government's work in the education sector and accusing the BJP of trying to defame state-run schools.- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Aug 25, 2026 14:53 IST