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New Delhi/Nagpur: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office has been asked by the Information Commission to give specific details of his degree to the Delhi University to facilitate their search in response to an RTI query.
On Thursday, Arvind Kejriwal has demanded that details of PM Modi’s education be made public. The Delhi Chief Minister had written in a letter to the Information Commission accusing it of trying to hide facts about the prime minister.
PM Modi had declared while contesting the 2014 national election that he has a BA degree from the Delhi University and a Master’s from the Gujarat University.
Mr Kejriwal, in his letter to Information Commissioner M Sridhar Acharyulu, had cited a news report and alleged that details of PM Modi’s education were being concealed from the public.
“I have no objections to my record being made public. But I have learnt that you have blocked information on Narendra Modi’s degree. The entire country wants to know the truth. Despite that you refused to release details of his degree. Why did you do this? It is wrong,” he had written.
Last month, the Information Commission had asked the Chief Minister why he, as a lawmaker, should not be declared a public authority whose education and assets have to be declared. The commission acted on a petition that had questioned how Mr Kejriwal was allowed to change his address on his Delhi poll affidavit.
“You want everything about me out in the public domain, to which I have no objections. But I am amazed that you want to hide information on Narendra Modi’s degree. It raises the suspicion of people – is the commission really impartial?” Mr Kejriwal had questioned.
Earlier this month, the Delhi University rejected a request under RTI for information on PM Modi’s bachelor’s degree, saying it doesn’t have details like his roll number, required to track down such information.
An RTI query filed by a Delhi resident on “how many people with the name of Narendra Modi had passed BA in 1978 by correspondence” was also denied, partly on grounds of national security.
