Saying that he has no hesitation in accepting even a 10th or 12th pass prime minister because talent is not subservient to the formal education, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said the issue is not that what is his qualification, but if a prime minister faces fraud charges, the matter becomes very serious.
"The issue is not that what his qualification is. Even if he is a 10th or 12th pass, we accept him. People have given him a mandate, people trusted him and we respect people's mandate and trust, but fraud is a serious issue," he said.
Kejriwal contended, "In his affidavit, the Prime Minister has said he has done B.A. from Delhi University and M.A from the Gujarat University. You don't need a degree to become prime minister, because talent is not subservient to formal education. Even a person with little formal education can be talented. Anna Hajare ji had little formal education, but he is a very knowledgeable person.
"That is not an issue. The issue is: first, it has come out that he (Prime Minister Modi) has done neither B.A. nor M.A, and both of his degrees are fake. Thus, he lied to the nation and he lied in the affidavit. And second, the degrees are forged. It is a case of fraud. If a person of the stature of the Prime Minister faces the charges of fraud, then it is a very serious issue."
"We have got an inquiry done at our level in Delhi University. We have copies of many papers. His (PM's) name is not present in the enrolment register neither had he got any degrees from the university. He was also not enrolled with the School of Open Learning. His name is nowhere," claimed Kejriwal.
"After an extensive inquiry, we found one Narendra Modi, who is from Alwar whose date of birth is 1958, while our Prime Minister's date of birth is 1950. So, he is a different person," said Kejriwal, while divulging details of the inquiry conducted at D.U..
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Ridiculing the Congress' silence over the PM's degree issue and the BJP's response to the AgustaWestland deal scam, he said: "The Congress is also not saying anything. The BJP is criticising Sonia, but not arresting her (for AgustaWestland), while the Congress is not talking about his degree. Further, both the Congress and the BJP are staging dharnas against each other. What do they think, the nation is fool?"
Lambasting the BJP over its failure to mark an inquiry against former Delhi chief minister Shiela Dikshit in scams concerning the Commonwealth Games and the Delhi Jal Board, Kejriwal said: "Our 49-day government had lodged three cases against Sheila Dikshit with the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB). We also lodged an FIR against Reliance Industries Limited chairman Mukesh Ambani. The BJP had done nothing, but we did it in just 49 days."
"The BJP-led Delhi government had locked three files concerning Shiela Dikshit and one related to Ambani in an almirah. When our government came to power, we issued notices on the basis of those files. We issued summons to Reliance's very senior officers. We also started summoning in three matters concerning the Shiela government, including Commonwealth and Jal Board. But on June 8, they captured our anti-corruption branch," said Kejriwal.
"Since June 8, there has been no interrogation on those files, which were locked again. Modi ji is not only helping Sonia Gandhi, but Shiela ji as well," he added.
Stating that instead of seeking Sonia Gandhi's explanation in the AgustaWestland deal, the government should carry out a thorough investigation to find out the guilty. "I want to say give me the ACB for a year, we will show the nation how investigations are conducted in scams," he said.
Speaking about the demand for full statehood to Delhi, he said, "We will table the resolution of Delhi Statehood in the next assembly session and send it to centre. We will try to get it passed by the Central government, because it will require constitutional amendment, which only the central government can make. We can only send the proposal.