New Delhi, Jan. 3 -- Delhi education minister Ashish Sood on Friday hit out at Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal for spreading fake news and misinformation that teachers in Delhi schools were ordered to "count dogs" by the government. Addressing a press conference on Friday, Sood asked Kejriwal to tender a public apology to the people of Delhi for spreading lies and said the government will no longer tolerate this "shoot and scoot" politics, a day after the government filed a complaint on the matter. Sood warned of legal action against leaders who make such posts. "Our government is fully committed to ensuring the safety of school campuses in Delhi. Providing quality education to children, and maintaining the harmonious social environment of the capital is our goal, but, AAP leaders are indulging in false propaganda," Sood said. The government's riposte comes after Kejriwal, on Tuesday, posted on X: "Will teachers in Delhi's government schools teach children, or will they count dogs on the streets instead?" Sood also refuted the claim, labelling it "misinformation" and clarifying that the government had not issued such a notice. "It is AAP's habit to start playing the victim card as soon as legal action is initiated," he said. Sood said it clearly held security guards, gatekeepers and chowkidars responsible for preventing entry of strays onto school premises. The police, meanwhile, on Directorate of Education's (DoE) complaint over alleged misinformation being spread regarding a direction that school teachers are required to count stray dogs, have registered a case against unidentified persons. He said that awareness sessions will be organised for students, teachers, and non-teaching staff on animal behaviour, first aid in case of dog bites, and reporting procedures. In response to Sood, AAP legislators Sanjeev Jha and Kuldeep Kumar held a press conference sharing two circulars issued by the caretaking branch of Delhi's directorate of education (DoE) and questioned how they could be issued without the education minister's direction. "Were these issued without the minister's permission? If so, what action will be taken? Such a circular clearly exists, but no one in the government has said they take this circular back. Registering an FIR is only a way to try and scare us," Jha said. AAP Delhi chief Saurabh Bharadwaj, in a post on X, said Sood was trying to threaten and scare AAP volunteers with an FIR. "AAP is not scared of these frivolous cases," he posted. The DoE suspended a Hindi teacher posted at Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya (SBV), Subhash Nagar, as per an order released on December 31, 2025. While the order did not specify a reason for the suspension, the teacher alleged that action was taken for refusing to serve as the school's nodal officer to tackle the stray dog issue. The teacher said he posted a video in a WhatsApp group over apprehensions of having to undertake tasks, such as counting dogs, following which he was suspended. Meanwhile, Sood told HT, "Teachers are welcome to protest for their rights. However, politically motivated misinformation campaigns will naturally call for disciplinary action."...