Pargat accuses AAP of taking credit for Congress-era education reforms

Jalandhar: Former Punjab education minister and Congress MLA Pargat Singh on Tuesday accused the AAP govt of misleading people by claiming credit for achievements in the state's school education sector that were made during the previous Congress regime.The criticism came after AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal claimed on social media that Punjab had risen from 27th position in school education to the top rank under the Bhagwant Mann govt.In a statement, Pargat said Punjab had indeed been ranked 27th in the Performance Grading Index (PGI) in 2017, but rose to the top position in the PGI 2021 report due to reforms introduced by the Congress govt."Punjab's rise to No. 1 was the result of education reforms implemented during the Congress regime. AAP is falsely trying to claim credit for that achievement," he said.Pargat alleged that AAP leaders had earlier questioned the credibility of education rankings when they highlighted the Congress govt's performance.He also claimed that Kejriwal highlighted the National Achievement Survey (NAS) 2017 but avoided referring to NAS 2021, in which Punjab had topped the rankings.The Congress leader further alleged that despite being in power in Delhi for a decade, Kejriwal was unable to make the national capital rank first in school education."History cannot be rewritten through advertisements, PR campaigns and propaganda," Pargat said.