AAP leaders visit DU for PM's degree, VC says looking into it

Image
Press Trust of India New Delhi
Last Updated : May 04 2016 | 8:07 PM IST
Three Aam Aadmi Party leaders today met Delhi University authorities to seek proof of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's graduation degree and claimed that the varsity asked them to approach PMO for the information.
While the Vice Chancellor Yogesh Tyagi did not comment on today's meeting, he maintained that the university's RTI department is looking into the issue.
The AAP leaders' visit to the university came a week after the Central Information Commission directed DU and Gujarat University to provide the information to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who had recently criticised the functioning of the transparency panel.
Gujarat University had on Sunday said Modi had an MA degree and had scored 62.3 per cent as an external student of the varsity.
The party leaders including Ashutosh, Raghav Chadha and Ashish Khetan had gone to DU this afternoon with an authorisation letter from the CM to collect the information.
After nearly an hour-long meeting with DU Registrar Tarun Das and Chief Public Information Officer Meenakshi Sahay, the leaders claimed that the administration refused to share any details and asked them to approach Prime Minister's Office instead.
Kejriwal took to Twitter alleging that PM's degree was "forged" and that is why DU was refusing to share it.
"DU refuses to show records of PM's degree. Why? My info- he did not do BA from DU. No records in DU. Degree published by some papers forged," he said in a series of tweets.
"No records in DU related to his enrolment, his degree, his marksheets and convocation.Why is DU refusing info abt PM's degree? Becoz he does not have it," the Chief Minister added.
After the meeting, Khetan told reporters, "We met the Registrar and sought information about PM's degree but the administration refused to share any details. Investigations have revealed that his degree is fake, he never enrolled here, gave any exam or got any graduation degree from here and if there wasn't a BA degree, there is no possibility of him having a valid MA degree".
"Since past two years, DU has not been able to find information about his degree or admission and despite the CIC order they asked us to approach PMO if we wanted to see his degree," he added.
DU Vice Chancellor told PTI, "The university's department dealing with RTIs is looking into the issue and will reply accordingly."
The genesis of the case is in two previous CIC orders
and a scathing letter from Kejriwal to Information Commissioner Sridhar Acharyulu where he demanded that while he was ready to share information sought by RTI applicants, the CIC must also order disclosure of educational qualifications of the Prime Minister.
Kejriwal also promptly shared a copy of an RTI response on his engineering degree from IIT-Kharagpur, saying the authorities could immediately provide it as "I have a degree from there".
*Subscribe to Business Standard digital and get complimentary access to The New York Times

Smart Quarterly

₹900

3 Months

₹300/Month

SAVE 25%

Smart Essential

₹2,700

1 Year

₹225/Month

SAVE 46%
*Complimentary New York Times access for the 2nd year will be given after 12 months

Super Saver

₹3,900

2 Years

₹162/Month

Subscribe

Renews automatically, cancel anytime

Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans

Exclusive premium stories online

  • Over 30 premium stories daily, handpicked by our editors

Complimentary Access to The New York Times

  • News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic

Business Standard Epaper

  • Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share

Curated Newsletters

  • Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox

Market Analysis & Investment Insights

  • In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor

Archives

  • Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997

Ad-free Reading

  • Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements

Seamless Access Across All Devices

  • Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app

More From This Section

First Published: May 04 2016 | 8:07 PM IST

Next Story