'Entire country is stunned': Arvind Kejriwal on Gujarat HC order on PM Modi's degrees

People, who have the right to know about the academic qualification of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, are “stunned” by the Gujarat High Court's verdict, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Saturday.

The Gujarat High Court on Friday quashed a seven-year-old order of the Central Information Commission (CIC) which had asked the Gujarat University to provide information on Modi's degree to Kejriwal.

Allowing the Gujarat University's appeal against the CIC order, Justice Biren Vaishnav also imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on Kejriwal and asked him to deposit the amount within four weeks to the Gujarat State Legal Services Authority (GSLSA).

“Entire country is stunned by the High Court's order because there should be a freedom of seeking information and asking questions in a democracy,” Kejriwal said at a press conference.

“The High court's order has increased the suspicion over the prime minister's education,” he charged. If the prime minister had studied from Gujarat University or Delhi University, they should have been celebrating it, instead they are hiding the information, the Delhi chief minister said.

“If there is a valid degree of Modi, why Gujarat University is not showing it,” he asked. There can only be two reasons why Gujarat university is not ready to give information on the prime minister's academic qualification – it's either due to Modi's arrogance, or, his degree is fake, Kejriwal said.

He, however, went on to add that being illiterate is not “a crime or sin” as there is so much poverty in the country.

“Many of us are not in a position to get formal education due to financial conditions in the families.” Such rank poverty continues to afflict the nation even after 75 years of independence, he added. Kejriwal pressed on with his question on Modi’s education, saying the question becomes imperative since being the “top manager” of the country, Modi has to take so many important decisions every day, including those pertaining to science and economy.

“If the prime minister is not educated then the officers and various types of people will come and get his signature anywhere, get passed from him anything, like the note ban (demonetisation) due to which the country had to suffer a lot,” he charged. “If the prime minister modi was educated he would not have implemented the note ban,” the CM added.