BJP gives proof of PM's degree; AAP still back its charge

Amit Shah and Arun Jaitley alleged that Kejriwal has tried to turn a lie into a truth

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on monday released copies of BA and MA degrees of prime minister Narendra Modi in response to Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) allegations that questioned his degree from Delhi University (DU). AAP hit back saying the documents were forged and had glaring discrepancies in them.

In a bid to set an end to the row over Modi's educational qualifications, BJP president Amit Shah and finance minister Arun Jaitley, addressed a press conference where they released the copy of graduation degree taken from DU and the masters degree from Gujarat University.

The two leaders launched a blistering attack on AAP leader and chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, accusing him of lowering the public discourse by spreading lies and substituting governance with politics of adventurism. They demanded an apology from him.

Shah and Jaitley alleged that Kejriwal has tried to turn a lie into a truth by running a campaign to mislead the people of the country.

Jaitley said the kind of allegations that have been levelled against Modi, threatens the federal polity in the country when a Union Territory (UT) indulges in irresponsible behaviour to attack the Prime Minister. They challenged the Delhi Chief Minister to verify his claims.

"Arvind Kejriwal has been spreading lies about the prime minister's credentials. He has committed the sin of defaming the country. It is very unfortunate that we have to hold a press conference about the prime minister's educational qualification. When you do not have any proof, how can you spread allegations. He should apologise to the entire nation," said Shah, adding he will also write a letter to Kejriwal to satisfy his queries.

When asked about the authenticity of Modi's BA degree, Shah told a reporter to check it with the Delhi University.

Jaitley said it was ironical that such a charge has come from a political party several of whose MLAs are being prosecuted for having fake degrees.

Kejriwal has been alleging that the Prime Minister's BA degree is fake and that it was obtained by a namesake of him from Alwar.

Shortly later, however, an unfazed AAP continued to persist with its claims on the issue.

AAP leader Ashutosh addressed a press conference in which he claimed Modi's name does not match in the BA mark sheet and that of the MA degree. He even claimed that there were discrepancies in the year of passing as well.

"Nakal ke liye bhi akal ki zaroorat hai (One needs brain even to copy). The BA mark sheet is dated 1978 while the degree is of the year 1979. His name in the BA mark sheet is Narendra Kumar Damodardas Modi while in Masters degree, it is Narendra Damoderdas Modi," said the AAP leader.

Even in BA mark sheet, another AAP leader Dilip Pandey said,"surname is spelt "Modi" in one case while it changes to "Mody" in another."