New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's graduation degree is kosher, the Delhi University said today, breaking its silence on a controversy escalated over the past few days by Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
"We have checked our records and it has been authenticated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's degree is authentic. He cleared the examination in 1978 and was awarded the degree in
1979," said the university's registrar Tarun Das.
The university's long refusal to comment had fueled AAP's aggressive campaign to prove that the prime minister had lied in his 2014 poll documents about his education.
An AAP delegation landed up at the university earlier today asking to verify details of the degree released by the ruling BJP yesterday.
The AAP leaders were told that Vice Chancellor Yogesh Tyagi is busy, and that they would have to come back on Wednesday. "There is an atmosphere of fear here. If all is well with the degree then why don't they reveal details?" the party's Sanjay Singh questioned.
AAP refused to back down on its campaign against the Prime Minister even after the BJP released what it said were copies of Mr Modi's degrees - a Bachelor of Arts from Delhi University and a Master of Arts in political science from Gujarat University.
"Arvind Kejriwal has been spreading lies about the Prime Minister. He has tried to defame the PM. He should apologise not only to the PM but the entire nation," said BJP president Amit Shah.
Mr Kejriwal dismissed the degrees as "fake" and accused the BJP of having the real records at the university "sealed".
AAP alleged discrepancies in the released documents, including different spellings of Mr Modi's name. The party also said the fact that the degree certificate is part handwritten shows "manipulation".
The university dismissed the points raised by AAP as common errors. "We would like to state that Narendra Damodardas Modi had qualified for degree of Bachelors in Arts. His enrollment number was CC 594/74 and his examination roll number was 16594," said the registrar.
AAP insists that the only "Narendra Modi" who graduated from Delhi University in 1978 was not the prime minister but his namesake "Narendra Mahavir Modi" from Rajasthan's Alwar.
Gujarat University had confirmed PM Modi's master of arts degree earlier this month.
"We have checked our records and it has been authenticated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's degree is authentic. He cleared the examination in 1978 and was awarded the degree in
1979," said the university's registrar Tarun Das.
The university's long refusal to comment had fueled AAP's aggressive campaign to prove that the prime minister had lied in his 2014 poll documents about his education.
The AAP leaders were told that Vice Chancellor Yogesh Tyagi is busy, and that they would have to come back on Wednesday. "There is an atmosphere of fear here. If all is well with the degree then why don't they reveal details?" the party's Sanjay Singh questioned.
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"Arvind Kejriwal has been spreading lies about the Prime Minister. He has tried to defame the PM. He should apologise not only to the PM but the entire nation," said BJP president Amit Shah.
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AAP alleged discrepancies in the released documents, including different spellings of Mr Modi's name. The party also said the fact that the degree certificate is part handwritten shows "manipulation".
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AAP insists that the only "Narendra Modi" who graduated from Delhi University in 1978 was not the prime minister but his namesake "Narendra Mahavir Modi" from Rajasthan's Alwar.
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