Modi Degree row: AAP workers protesting outside Gujarat High Court detained

Over 100 Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers were on Thursday detained outside the Gujarat High Court for staging a demonstration ahead of a hearing on a petition on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's academic degrees.

Nearly 200 workers protested outside the Gujarat High Court compound, shouted slogans and displayed placards, demanding the details of Modi's degrees be made public.

"Police dispersed the party workers and detained nearly 100 of them, including senior party leader Kanu Kalsaria," the AAP Gujarat unit said in a statement.

The police said the detained AAP workers were released later.

The AAP workers assembled at the High Court before the hearing of a case related to Modi's degree obtained from the Gujarat University (GU).

A petition was filed by the Gujarat University against a Central Information Commission (CIC) order to reveal the details on the degree.

On April 29, the CIC directed the Delhi University and the Gujarat University to provide information to Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal on the degrees earned by Modi in 1978 (graduation from DU) and 1983 (postgraduation from GU).

In July, the Gujarat High Court put on hold the CIC's order that directed the GU to provide information on Modi's degree.

The Delhi Chief Minister and AAP supremo had written a letter to the Information Commissioner asking for reason for alleged concealment of details related to Modi's educational qualifications.

The letter was treated as an RTI application and subsequently the GU and DU authorities were asked to provide the details.

In response to the CIC's directive, GU Vice Chancellor M.N. Patel divulged that Modi got a Master of Arts degree in Political Science. He was enrolled as an external student of the GU and obtained the degree in 1983, Patel said while expressing the inability to share the marksheet as the varsity cannot provide details of records beyond two decades.