PM cheated people on his BA degree: Kejriwal

Giving a fresh twist to the controversy over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BA degree, the Aam Aadmi Party today alleged that a degree obtained by a namesake of him has been shown as as his own, which Arvind Kejriwal said amounted to outright "cheating".

Kejriwal told a press conference that he can assert with "full responsibility" that Delhi University's records have no mention of "Narendra Damodardas Modi" and that one "Narendra Kumar Mahavir Prasad Modi" had taken admission in 1975.

The Delhi Chief Minister, who have been demanding that Modi's degrees be placed in public domain, said the issue was not whether the PM was "10th pass or 12th pass" but that he has furnished "fake" certificates and "cheated" the people of the country.

"You don't need any degree to become PM. Talent is not necessarily a product of formal education. A person with less formal education can also be extremely talented, take for example Anna Hazare.

"Firstly he lied in front of the country, secondly he lied in his affidavit and thirdly the degree that is emerging is forged. This is a case of cheating. If there are charges of cheating against a person like PM, then it is a grave matter," Kejriwal said.

Kerjriwal claimed that AAP volunteers have conducted "searches" across departments of DU, even in school of open learning, but did not come across Modi's enrollment form or degree.

"I started saying with full responsibility that DU does not have his records only then. We came across one Modi who took admission in 1975 and is a resident of Alwar, His date of birth is 1958 whereas our PM's date of birth is 1950," the AAP chief said.

Meanwhile, the alleged "Narendra Kumar Mahavir Prasad Modi", allegedly a resident of Alwar, told reporters that he took admission in Shri Ram College of Commerce in 1975.

"I am thankful to my father for giving me such a nice name as it is famous across the world now," he said.

AAP leaders Ashutsoh and Sanjay Singh have also filed an RTI with Delhi University seeking copy of Modi's application form, copy of enrollment form in Modi's handwriting, copy of relevant register, copy of his marksheet of each year, copy of convocation list of 1979 and announcement list during convocation.

In a separate presser, AAP leader Ashish Khetan    said this was for the first time that any Prime Minister's academic qualification was under the scanner.

Khetan said Modi should be dealt with in a way similar to former AAP Minister Jitendra Singh Tomar was treated. Tomar was a Law Minister who was sacked over fake degree allegations and arrested.

"Police should 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 in the case of Tomar," Khetan said.

"Our investigations show that the degree is fake. This is a very serious crime and amounts to forgery," party leader Ashutosh said, adding that they also fear that the varsity records could be tampered with.