DU blocking RTI query on Modi’s degree deepens mystery: CM

 Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said media reports claiming that Delhi University (DU) had blocked a Right To Information (RTI), query seeking details of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BA degree “deepened the mystery” surrounding his educational qualification.

Kejriwal, who had alleged earlier that Modi’s graduation degree was fake, said the Delhi University could not refuse the information sought on the Prime Minister. 

He contended that DU “cannot reject” information sought under the RTI Act by a city-based lawyer and the university should write to the Prime Minister to seek his permission for releasing the documents. 

“This deepens the mystery around the PM’s degree. If DU feels that it is private info then under RTI Act, DU shud write to PM n seek his permission. DU can't reject (sic),” he tweeted.

He recalled that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president Amit Shah and Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had defended Modi when the controversy erupted over his alleged fake degrees, saying that the documents were “genuine and anyone could take it from DU”.

“What? But why? Didn’t Amit Shah n Jaitley ji say that degree was genuine and anyone cud take it from DU?(sic)” he asked on Twitter.

The Right to Information query was filed by Delhi-based lawyer Mohd Irsad. “DU, as a matter of policy, seeks to maintain the privacy of every student as it holds the data pertaining to a student in a fiduciary relationship with the student concerned,” the RTI response from the university read. 

The university said that the applicant could approach the Appellate Authority of DU’s School of Open Learning within a month from the day the reply was issued.

In April, Kejriwal had urged the Central Information Commission (CIC) to make public the details of Modi’s educational qualification. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had graduated from Delhi University and later did a post-graduation course in Gujarat. Following Kejriwal’s letter, the had CIC asked the DU to make the PM’s graduation degree public.