: Speaking on making Delhi an inclusive city, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said that chanting ‘Bharat mata ki jai’ when asked to, talking about Sanskrit, and not eating beef have become the deciding factors to differentiate individuals in the country.
Stressing upon “contradictions” being in the race for “exclusiveness”, Mr. Sisodia said that he dreamt of inclusiveness. “But the problem with inclusiveness is that it doesn’t give you the chance to be exclusive, which, at present, is the foundation stone of our society. There are people who forcefully chant ‘Bharat mata ki jai’, there are people who say it from heart.”
Attacking the NDA government at the Centre, he said, “Exclusiveness is gained by talking of eating or not eating beef, and chanting ‘Vande Mataram’. Those who do not talk of Sanskrit cannot be inclusive,” he added.
Confessing that he was often criticised for being only an Education Minister and focusing less on his other portfolios, he said, “Education is the biggest roadblock in the way of being inclusive. We teach a two-and-half-year-old kid to be exclusive by performing well in school.”
The minister pointed out that one-third of the people in Delhi stay in slums while over half of the city’s population reside in unauthorised colonies but development plans are always exclusive.
