Chandigarh, Oct. 5 -- The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday hit out at the ruling Aam Aadmi Party over the suspension of its Maur MLA Sukhveer Singh Maiserkhana, saying the action showed the government was unwilling to face questions over teacher shortages and the functioning of government schools. Leader of Opposition in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha Partap Singh Bajwa said chief minister Bhagwant Mann's repeated claims of transforming Punjab's government schools stood sharply contradicted by the concerns raised by Maiserkhana. "Bhagwant Mann can continue to repeat the slogan of 'Sikhya Kranti', but the reality inside Punjab's government schools is increasingly difficult to hide. When a sitting AAP MLA goes public, says his own children study in a government school and raises concerns about a shortage of teachers affecting students, it exposes the widening gap between AAP's publicity and the reality on the ground," Bajwa said. Newly appointed Punjab Congress president Pargat Singh termed AAP's suspension of MLA Maiserkhana as "dictatorship", alleging that the move reflected the ruling party's unwillingness to accept criticism over ground realities in the state. "I call this a dictatorship; it is not a true democracy. Kejriwal is essentially a dictator because he refuses to agree with anyone who speaks about the ground reality," he said. Maiserkhana was suspended on Saturday hours after he publicly raised concerns over teacher vacancies and other basic issues in schools in his constituency. In a video, the MLA had said he had repeatedly urged the government to fill vacant posts so that students could study properly. The AAP cited "anti-party activities and indiscipline" while announcing the suspension. Senior BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Tarun Chugh said education cannot be transformed through slogans. "Punjab needs teachers in schools, proper infrastructure for students, modern facilities and dignity for the teaching community," he said. BJP leader RP Singh from Delhi alleged that the AAP legislator was punished merely for speaking the truth about the condition of government school infrastructure: "Maiserkhana held up a mirror to the AAP chief minister, which is why he got him suspended from the party."...