In no mood to relent, the Aam Aadmi Party today kept the issue of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's degree alive with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal writing to the Delhi University vice chancellor and tweeting that forging a degree was a "criminal offence".
Interestingly, the party fielded its MLA Jitendra Singh Tomar, who was arrested over a case of allegedly possessing fake degrees, to target Modi. The Tri Nagar MLA filed an RTI application seeking copy of Modi's marksheets among others.
Tomar, who was sacked from the AAP Cabinet, wondered why the PM, facing "smilar charges", should not be arrested if "everyone is equal before the law". The party also expressed apprehensions that records in DU were "not secure".
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"PM being less educated is not an issue. But forging n faking a degree is criminal offence n breach of trust (sic)," Kejriwal tweeted. In his letter to the VC, he demanded that Modi's degree be put on the varsity's website.
"It is a matter of grave concern since the Gujarat University says that he (Modi) has done his Masters from there. If he has not pursued BA, then how could he secure admission in MA? This gives rise to suspicions that the MA degree is forged.
"I urge you to take steps for these documents to be secured. It will be better if these documents are put online. Do the people of this country have the right to know the education qualifications of their PM? If there are serious allegations concerning his degree then the truth should emerge," the AAP chief wrote.
Demanding that the PM be acted against, Tomar told reporters that police should also "take him to Delhi University and ask him to show the hall in which he appeared for exams."
"Everyone is equal before law. They should also follow a similar procedure the way it was adopted with me," Tomar said.
Meanwhile, Delhi Water Minister Kapil Mishra, who had earlier courted controversy by calling the PM an "ISI agent", alleged that Modi's educational degree and "marriage story" are "fake".
"The one whose story of a tea shop is fake, marriage story is fake, electoral assurances are fake, educational degree fake...His bhakts (followers) are putting out fake posts to comfort themselves," Mishra tweeted.