Let Parliament, country be aware of PM Modi's academic qualification: Sanjay Raut
MUMBAI: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should come forward to inform about his academic qualification and wondered what was the need to hide it.
The Rajya Sabha member said the PM's degree should be displayed at the entrance of the Parliament building.
Let the lawmakers and the country be aware of his educational qualification, he added.
Raut made the comments while talking to reporters in New Delhi, three days after the Gujarat High Court set aside an order of the Central Information Commission (CIC) asking the Gujarat University to provide information on PM Modi's degree to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Senior BJP leader and Maharashtra cabinet minister Chandrakant Patil hit back at Raut, saying he should observe restraint while speaking about the people holding top Constitutional posts like the prime minister.
"Some codes need to be followed in politics and social and cultural spheres while making a public comment on a person holding the highest constitutional position. The level of allegations is going down," Patil said in Pune.
While noting that both Kejriwal and the CIC were "absolutely casual" in their approach, the court had also observed there was "indiscriminate misuse" of the RTI Act in this case.
Allowing the Gujarat University's appeal against the CIC order, Justice Biren Vaishnav also imposed a cost of Rs 25,000 on Kejriwal.
Raut on Monday said, "Narendra Modi sold tea at a railway platform and did his MA in Entire Political Science. The degree is historic and revolutionary. Display his degree at the grand entrance of the new Parliament building built by Prime Minister Narendra Modi."
"Let the entire Parliament and the country be aware of his education. What is the mystery behind it, why would one hide it," he said.
Responding to a question seeking his opinion on the authenticity of the PM's degree, Raut said, "The prime minister should come forward and inform us about the degree. The degree certificate was first shown to people by (Union Home Minister) Amit Shah."
"Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal sought details of his degree, but he was fined Rs 25,000 (by a Gujarat court)," the Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson noted.
"If the educational degree of the country's President, a High Court/Supreme Court judge or ours can be demanded, then why hide the educational qualification of the prime minister? I think PM Modi should come forward and give a clarification," Raut said.
Raut also claimed that most of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders have "bogus" degrees.
"It is a factory of bogus degrees, you know it. Take any name and check their degree," he said while responding to a query.
Asked if the degree matter surfaced to divert attention in Parliament from the Adani group issue (over allegations levelled by Hindenburg Research), Raut said, "Gautam Adani's issue is not over. The degree issue came up after a Gujarat court imposed a fine on Kejriwal. What sort of fine and law is there when you seek the degree details of PM Modi? The issue itself is self-explanatory about what is right and wrong," he said.
Raut also came out in support of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who has been disqualified from the Lok Sabha following his conviction in a criminal defamation case over his "Modi surname" remarks.
"Gandhi's disqualification is illegal and the case is also bogus. I am sure that a higher court in Gujarat will do justice to Gandhi," said Raut, whose party is an ally of the Congress in Maharashtra.
To a query on recent incidents of communal violence in the country, Raut claimed, "The BJP has created a new wing just to stoke violence and riots in the country. It wants more and more such incidents before facing the general polls or postponing elections. The violence in West Bengal is BJP sponsored, with the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as the target," he added.
Raut also hit out at the Eknath Shinde-led government in Maharashtra terming it "very weak and unpopular".