Raising heat by educational degrees: AAP belligerent, Opposition divided

Delhi L-G V K Saxena, who shares a frosty relationship with the Arvind Kejriwal-led government, promptly replied to the AAP’s latest campaign against the PM by saying degrees were mere receipts of money spent on education and that the behaviour of a few people proved that they “remain uneducated despite having an IIT degree”.

“I have heard the statement made by the CM in the Vidhan Sabha. No one should boast about their degree because degrees are just receipts of money spent on studies. Education is reflected in your knowledge and behaviour,” Saxena said, talking to reporters.

Since Manish Sisodia, the face of the AAP’s education campaign in Delhi, was imprisoned over the alleged excise scam in the Capital, the AAP has launched a campaign focused around Modi’s degrees, through posters and repeated speeches.

After the Gujarat High Court set aside an order of the Central Information Commission that had directed Gujarat University to “search for information regarding” Modi’s degrees, based on an RTI plea by Kejriwal, and imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on the AAP supremo over it, the party has been asking whether or not an “educated PM” was needed for the nation’s well-being.

Tweeting minutes after the HC order, saying “illiterate… less educated”, Kejriwal posted: “Doesn’t the country even have the right to know how educated their PM is? They were opposed to showing his degree in court. Why? Those who demand to see his degree will be fined? What is happening? An illiterate or less educated PM is very dangerous for the country.”

On April 2, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said at a press conference: “The Election Commission says that if you give wrong information about property and degrees, then your membership will be cancelled. If Modiji’s degree is investigated, his membership will also go away and he will not be able to contest elections for many years.”

On April 4, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma seemed to take a swipe at Kejriwal, with whom he has been engaged in a war of words, over educational qualifications. After a Twitter user called Sarma a “copy-paste CM”, posting a video where he was allegedly copying text to fill out a visitor’s book, Sarma tweeted back: “I went to an Assamese medium school and am trying my best to learn Hindi and English in my own humble way. I must admit that I do not know English and Hindi very well, and I have no hesitation in admitting it.”

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) also joined the discussion that day, with party leader Ajit Pawar saying at a press conference in Mumbai that a degree was no requirement to become the PM. “Yes, I have been hearing about this row (over degree). Now, he has been the Prime Minister of India for nine years. Was degree a requirement to get that job.”

The same day, Telangana IT minister K T Rama Rao, popularly known as KTR, alleged that two Telangana BJP MPs had fake certificates. KTR’s Bharat Rashtra Samithi has been facing the heat of the Delhi excise scam apart from the AAP.

“Looks like we have too many MunnaBhai, MBBS types in BJP. 2 BJP MPs from Telangana are also allegedly Fake Certificate holders. Have forged certificates from Rajasthan & TN Universities. Isn’t it a criminal offence to lie in your election affidavit on whose basis MP gets elected? Should the LS speaker not ascertain & disqualify if found guilty?” KTR tweeted.

On the day of the Gujarat order, KTR had posted: “I have a Masters Degree in Biotechnology from Pune University. Also have a Masters Degree in Business Administration from City University of New York. Can share both certificates publicly. Just Saying.”