Now row over Ravi Kishan's educational qualifications

After Union Minister Smriti Irani, actor-turned-politician Ravi Kishan finds himself embroiled in a controversy over his educational qualifications.

According to reports, a complaint has been lodged with the Returning Officer in Gorakhpur, from where Ravi Kishan is the BJP candidate, pointing out that he has declared himself as "intermediate pass" in his election affidavit.

Ravi Kishan, who contested the 2014 elections from Jaunpur on a Congress ticket, in his then affidavit claimed that he was a graduate, according to the complaint filed by Santosh Kumar, a youth from Kushinagar.

In his complaint, Santosh Kumar asked that if Ravi Kishan was a commerce graduate in 2014, how did his educational qualifications come down to intermediate in 2019.

Rashtriya Mazdoor Congress General Secretary Santosh Mani Tripathi also alleged that Ravi Kishan's name was not legibly written and his signatures were not present in his nomination papers.

District Returning Officer K. Vijendra Pandiyan said that the matter was being probed and the actor-turned-politician's nomination may be cancelled if the allegations were found true.

Smriti Irani has also been accused of giving contradictory information regarding her education in her affidavits filed in 2004 and then in 2019.

--IANS

amita/rtp