Protest against ‘differential treatment’ continues
The Hindu
Many villagers demand ₹6,000 per vote, quoting the practice by a particular party
The unusual demonstrations by some voters stating that “we too should be given ₹6,000 per vote as being given by a party to some in Huzurabad by-poll” continued for the second day on Friday, posing uncomfortable questions to political parties and officials.
Video clips of women alleging that a particular party was distributing ₹6,000 per vote in the constituency and demanding that they too be given the same amount went viral the previous day. Two more video clips with near similar content surfaced from the constituency on Friday, even as police announced that they had already launched an investigation into such instances reported on Thursday.
In one video purportedly emerging from Peddapapayapally village, women staged a sit-in on the road, alleging that they were being denied ₹6,000 per vote. “We have two votes and live in a hut. What is our mistake? Why are we being deprived of that money?” they angrily asked. They also charged that one village elder even threatened them with dire consequences when they questioned on the issue.
Several principals of government and private schools in Delhi on Tuesday said the Directorate of Education (DoE) circular from a day earlier, directing schools to conduct classes in ‘hybrid’ mode, had caused confusion regarding day-to-day operations as they did not know how many students would return to school from Wednesday and how would teachers instruct in two modes — online and in person — at once. The DoE circular on Monday had also stated that the option to “exercise online mode of education, wherever available, shall vest with the students and their guardians”. Several schoolteachers also expressed confusion regarding the DoE order. A government schoolteacher said he was unsure of how to cope with the resumption of physical classes, given that the order directing government offices to ensure that 50% of the employees work from home is still in place. On Monday, the Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) had, on the orders of the Supreme Court, directed schools in Delhi-NCR to shift classes to the hybrid mode, following which the DoE had issued the circular. The court had urged the Centre’s pollution watchdog to consider restarting physical classes due to many students missing out on the mid-day meals and lacking the necessary means to attend classes online. The CAQM had, on November 20, asked schools in Delhi-NCR to shift to the online mode of teaching.