Smriti Irani's Educational Qualifications

Congress pounces on disparity in HRD minister Smriti Irani's 2004, 2014 Lok Sabha affidavits

TNN | May 29, 2014, 01.57 AM IST

NEW DELHI: HRD minister Smriti Irani found herself at the centre of an ugly row over inconsistencies relating to her educational qualifications in affidavits she filed in 2004, 2011 and 2014, with the later ones indicating she did not complete graduation.

While the affidavit filed by Irani when she contested the 2004 Lok Sabha polls said she had completed a BA from Delhi university's school of correspondence in 1996, the 2011 submission for her Rajya Sabha elections under the head "highest qualification" stated that she did B Com part I, again from DU's school of correspondence, in 1994.

The claim of B Com part I was also made in her declaration when she contested the recent elections against Rahul Gandhi from Amethi.

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If her affidavits are taken at face value, Irani completed her BA degree in 1996, but chose not to mention this in her affidavits filed after 2004. Instead she cited B Com part I, which is basically one year of the three-year B Com degree course, in the 2011 and 2014 affidavits. Completing part I is no qualification and does not constitute a degree.

Seizing on the discrepancy, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said, "In the 2004 affidavit, she has claimed to be graduate - BA of 1996. In the 2014 affidavit, it is specified that it is only BCom part I and that only means one year and not a full degree. We do not know whether 2014 is a mis-statement or 2004 is a mis-statement, but both cannot be true."

About the importance of educational qualifications in a ministerial appointment, Singhvi said, "We are not interested in personal issues. What we have said is the appropriateness, the context of this education ministry matching with the optics (of an intermediate as minister). It cannot also be forgotten that this august ministry has been headed by names like Maulana Azad, Fakhruddin Ahmed, Prof Nurul Hasan, VKRV Rao, Siddhartha Shankar Ray, Karan Singh, K C Pant, V P Singh, Murli Manohar Joshi."

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A senior EC official said the EC was not in the picture now that the polls were over. Under the new norms, any aggrieved person may directly approach the courts against a false affidavit.

Earlier in the day, AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh said "Educational qualification of a minister/PM is not the issue...But (that) Modi chose Smriti Irani over Dr Murli Manohar Joshi is the issue." Manish Tewari, on the other hand, insisted that criticism of the government should be policy-based rather than personality centric.

Irani's ministerial colleague, water resources minister Uma Bharti, defended the HRD minister, questioning Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's educational credentials. "I want to ask Sonia Gandhi what is her qualification because she was heading the UPA government, she was giving directions to the government. I want to see her certificate," asked Bharti.

Irani did not speak to the media about the controversy and repeated attempts to reach her did not yield any results.

READ ALSO: Madhu Kishwar continues tweet-attack on Smriti Irani

BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said Congress leaders should shed their "arrogance" after the party's defeat in the Lok Sabha polls and do introspection. "Congress should respect the mandate of the people," he said.

Meanwhile, women rights activist Madhu Kishwar, who sparked the controversy with her tweets critical of PM Narendra Modi's decision to make Irani the HRD minister, was unsparing, saying education and research in India was in a shambles and something urgent was needed to be done to lift standards in the system. "Somebody with a vision was needed for the job", said Kishwar, a self-professed Modi supporter.