"Dirty Politics" Says AAP As Centre Rejects Manish Sisodia's Austria Trip

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) today said that the Narendra Modi government's decision to deny Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia permission to attend an educational event in Austria amounts to playing "dirty politics".

The matter first came to light when Mr Sisodia, who also holds the education portfolio, tweeted earlier today that the centre was hell-bent on not letting the Delhi government showcase its achievements on the global stage. "Modiji does not want me to spread my message of Delhi schools' khushi ki paatshaala initiative across the world. It has refused to grant me permission to visit Austria and speak on the 'happiness curriculum' launched here. This has forced me to cancel my plans," he tweeted in Hindi.

According to a statement, Mr Sisodia was slated to go to Austria on a three-day trip soon. "The programme was supposed to dwell on ways to instil happiness in education. He was supposed to participate in a panel discussion and give several interviews, showcasing India's success in bringing happiness into education," it read.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal responded to Mr Sisodia's post soon afterwards, claiming that denying AAP representatives permission to travel abroad has become a habit with the central government. "Modiji had earlier refused to let another Delhi minister, Satyendra Jain, travel to Australia to speak on Mohalla clinics... Proclaiming the good things that happen here across the world only helps glorify the nation. The centre is playing dirty politics here," he tweeted.

The happiness curriculum, launched by the Delhi government in July, includes meditation, value education and mental exercises for students up to Class 8. Afghanistan had earlier announced that it wants to reform its education system by adopting the format.

Delhi's AAP government is constantly at odds with the Modi government, with both sides sparing no opportunity to heckle the other.  A massive rally held earlier today had Mr Kejriwal joining up with many opposition leaders to accuse the Modi government of cheating farmers through a flagship insurance scheme.

(With inputs from PTI)