BENGALURU: Amid the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) launching a ‘Degree Dikhaao’ campaign against BJP leaders, especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Monday said it is not the qualification itself that matters, but the question of principle and whether there was an attempt to mislead the public in an election affidavit.
“If you claim something in an election affidavit that is not true, that is actually granted for disqualification, that’s the seriousness of the charge. The issue is if there is an honest election affidavit. I don’t care about the degree but I care about his policies,” he clarified to reporters, after wrapping up his three days of outreach to residents of Bengaluru, as part of the Congress party’s campaign for the May 10 assembly polls.
He elaborated that one need not have qualifications to represent the people, as those who lack such background can also win elections. Tharoor took part in a conversation on his book ‘Ambedkar, A Life’ and on the topic ‘Role of Dissent in a Healthy Democracy’ with a group of activists who struggled to save 50 heritage trees marked to be chopped for a flyover at Sankey Tank. Boosting their morale, he took a dig at the police for filing FIRs against them.
Narrating the struggle of the Father of the Indian Constitution BR Ambedkar, he suggested that his fight for the underprivileged is an inspiration as he achieved it by following the rule of law. He also asked activists to gain inspiration from New Delhi’s Karol Bagh residents’ struggle against the implementation of the NRC by the Union government.
Speaking to reporters, he suggested that issues of insecurity for women in Bengaluru should be a priority, as police did not take action against the culprits.