AAP seeks probe into Irani, Katheria degrees

AAP refers Tomar's case to internal Lokpal

Stung by the Delhi Police’s arrest of the state’s law minister, Jitender Singh Tomar, on charges of furnishing a fake degree, the Aam Aadmi Party has turned the spotlight on Bharatiya Janata Party ministers accused of possessing dubious educational degrees.

“We urge the Delhi Police to also probe charges of submitting fake degrees against Union ministers Smriti Irani and Ram Shankar Katheria." AAP spokesperson Sanjay Singh said.

Despite reports of AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal being keen to expel Tomar, the party on Friday referred his case to an internal ombudsman. AAP leaders conceded the party’s image had taken a beating with the recent developments.

Highlighting the probe by the ombudsman, Singh said, "I would like to remind Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he had talked of cleanliness in politics; 30 per cent of his ministers have criminal charges against them."

"There should not be different yardsticks to judge these issues. We will take up the issue of alleged academic discrepancies in the case of Irani and Katheria,” Singh added.

Complaints have also surfaced over the educational qualifications of other AAP legislators like Delhi Cantonment MLA Surender Singh and Karol Bagh (Central) MLA Vishesh Ravi.

The revelations against the legislators have provided the BJP and Congress an opportunity to hit out at the AAP and demand Kejriwal’s resignation as Delhi’s chief minister.