Top Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP)leaders today sought to put an end to the escalating row over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's educational qualifications by going public with his degrees and demanded an apology from Delhi chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, accusing him of spreading lies on the issue.
BJP President, Amit Shah and the finance minister, Arun Jaitley, addressed a press conference during which they launched a blistering attack on Kejriwal, alleging that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Chief was lowering the public discourse by spreading lies on the issue of Modi's degrees and substituting governance with politics of adventurism.
Releasing Modi's graduation degree taken from Delhi University and masters degree from Gujarat University, both Shah and Jaitley alleged that Kejriwal has tried to turn a lie into truth by running a campaign to mislead the people of the country.
Jaitley even said the kind of allegations that have been levelled against Modi threatens federal polity in the country when a Union Territory (UT) indulges in irresponsible behavior 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.