"Are These Issues? Focus On Important Things": Sharad Pawar On Degree Row

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar has criticised those who have been raising the issue of educational qualification of leaders at a time when the country faces bigger problems that need attention.

Several opposition leaders in the centre including Uddhav Thackeray and Arvind Kejriwal have taken a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his college degrees.

Mr Kejriwal was fined Rs 25,000 by the Gujarat High Court for bringing up the matter when the information was already available in the public domain, while Mr Thackeray had asked "which college doesn't want to come out to feel proud of the fact that their college is where the Prime Minister studied".

Mr Pawar, while responding to a question to reporters on Sunday, said matters like unemployment, law and order and inflation need attention and leaders may do well to desist from going after issues that can wait or are even non-issues.

"Today, the college degree question is being asked often. What is your degree, what is my degree. Are these political issues?" Mr Pawar said in Marathi.

"Criticise the central government on unemployment, law and order, inflation... See other critical matters. Differences are being created among people in the name of religion and caste; unseasonal rain has destroyed crops in Maharashtra. We need discussions on these," Mr Pawar said.

This was the second comment by Mr Pawar that was seen as not reflecting the issues that some opposition parties have been pursuing. Yesterday, Mr Pawar came out strongly in support of the Adani Group and criticised the narrative around US short-seller Hindenburg Research's report on the conglomerate.

The Congress and other opposition parties have been demanding a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) investigation into the Adani-Hindenburg row. The Congress said Mr Pawar's party "may have its views" but all opposition parties are still united.

Mr Kejriwal's party has, however, raised the battle pitch on the degree row. On Sunday, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) launched a "show your degree" campaign and challenged BJP leaders to do the same.

"We are starting a campaign today. Your leaders will show their degree everyday to you. I have a BA degree from Delhi University and two Master's degree from Oxford. All of them are original," AAP MLA Atishi told reporters in Delhi said. "I want to ask all leaders to show their degrees, especially BJP leaders," she said, adding every AAP leader will show their degree as part of the campaign.