Delhi, Punjab sign knowledge-sharing agreement to improve health, education infra

An agreement knowledge-sharing was signed on Tuesday between Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Singh Mann, who said 117 schools and mohalla clinics will be developed in his state. Mann said education, health and power were a priority of his government and Punjab can learn from Delhi where a lot of work has been done in these fields. Delhi can also learn from Punjab about agriculture, he said.

Kejriwal said India will progress if every state starts learning from the good work done by others. "It will be wrong to say that only we have done good work. There were several islands of excellence across the country but there were divisions of parties and states, and nothing was learnt from that," he said in a press conference held jointly with Mann.

READ | Karachi witnessing worst cholera outbreak, massive rise in cases over past two months

About opposition allegations that the AAP government in Punjab was being ruled from Delhi, Kejriwal said, "Manish Sisodia visited Europe and Finland to learn about their education system. It will be stupid if someone says the Delhi government is being run by Finland. "Recently, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin visited Delhi. It can't be alleged that the Tamil Nadu government is being run from Delhi."

Asked about the Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal issue, Kejriwal said all stakeholders, including the Centre, Punjab, Haryana and the courts need to come together to resolve it. The Punjab chief minister said that he visited the schools, hospitals and mohalla clinics of Delhi during a two-day visit and his government will take these facilities to the next level in Punjab. "We will work for a golden future for Punjab. Lots of NRIs, from Sidney, Melbourne, Vancouver, Toronto, London and California, call me about adopting schools and villages as they have the confidence now that their money will be spent for a good cause," Mann said.

READ | 4th Covid-19 wave to peak in Karnataka after June, Health Minister issues alarm

He said that his government will also promote industries in Punjab and come out with a roadmap for job creation. Citing the depletion of the water level in Punjab, Mann said his government will also work on crop diversification. "Knowledgeable people say that good things should be picked up wherever they are. We will go to even Italy if some good things are to be learnt from there," he said. Kejriwal also emphasised mutual learning and sharing of good practices among the states. Citing Indore as the cleanest city of India, Kejriwal said he will visit it with his officers if the AAP wins the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). The BJP, which ruled MCD, should have learnt from Indore, which is ruled by their party, to keep Delhi clean, he said.

READ | BREAKING: Explosion inside Karachi University in Pakistan, at least 4 feared dead