AAP follows Yogi’s holiday cut model

New Delhi: Delhi government will emulate Uttar Pradesh in cancelling public holidays on birth and death anniversary of eminent personalities. Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, on Friday, lauded the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh for scrapping 15 such public holidays.

Mr Sisodia announced the decision on Twitter and said that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government was always open to learning from such “good initiatives” of other states. “The Delhi government will cancel holidays on birth or death anniversary of eminent personalities. I have issued instruction to the chief secretary in this regard,” he said on Twitter.

Earlier this week, the Uttar Pradesh Cabinet had decided to cancel 15 public holidays in educational institutions.

“The Uttar Pradesh government has taken a good initiative in this matter. We should always be ready to learn from other states,” Mr Sisodia said.

In a written communication to chief secretary M.M. Kutty, Mr Sisodia has directed him to examine such holidays in the Delhi government’s offices and schools and prepare a list of the holidays that can be done away with.

As per the Delhi government’s notification, there are around 13 holidays marking birth/death anniversary in 2017. Of these, six are gazetted holidays and seven are restricted. All offices remain closed on a gazetted holiday, whereas the Delhi government’s employees can avail only two restricted holidays in a year. “Instead, students in schools and colleges would now be taught about the great personalities on these days,” he said.

In a series of tweets, Mr Sisodia also mentioned the Delhi government’s initiatives — establishment of ‘mohalla clinics’ and the decision to not using red beacon lights — which are being “praised” across the country.

“We have noticed that good practices adopted by the Delhi government in the last two years have been, partially or fully, adopted by other state governments as well as the Central government. Establishment of ‘mohalla clinics’ in many states in one such example,” the deputy chief minister said in the written communication to Mr Kutty. The former Secretary-General of United Nations (UN), Kofi Annan, has also commended the Delhi government’s flagship mohalla clinic project, which is aimed at providing free primary healthcare to city residents closer to home.

“Another significant example is the Central government’s decision to ban the red beacon lights atop VIP/VVIP vehicles. We can say with pride that the Delhi government was the first to ban red beacons. No minister has ever used red beacons on his vehicles since this (AAP) government came to power,” Mr Sisodia said.