​Indian Prime Minister accused by opposition party of using fake degree

The opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) earlier this week claimed that Narendra Modi's qualifications were fake and had several inconsistencies.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's qualifications include a bachelor's degree from Delhi University (left) and a master's degree from Gujarat University - Photo: PTI

Accordingly, AAP accused Mr. Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of deceiving people.

According to Hindustantimes, many days earlier, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's educational qualifications.

At a press conference on May 10, BJP's ruling party president Amit Shah and his party colleague and Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley publicly displayed two certificates proving that Modi had received a bachelor's degree from Delhi University and a master's degree from Gujarat University.

But just an hour after the press conference, Chief Minister Arvind Kejiriwal’s AAP party immediately alleged that the two degrees were not genuine. They said the degrees had been doctored and there were “glaring discrepancies” in many details printed on the certificates.

“In the 1977 exam paper, the student’s name was Narendra Kumar Damodardas Modi. In the 1979 degree certificate, the name of the recipient is Narendra Damodardas Modi, which is impossible. If he had changed his name, there must be some authenticity to it. I have changed my name, so I know the procedure,” said AAP president Ashutosh.

Furthermore, according to documents provided by AAP, the names of students who took the exams from 1975 to 1978 kept changing. In the exams of 1975, 1976 and 1977, the names of the candidates changed to Narendra Kumar Damodardas Modi, Narendra Damoderdas Mody and Narendra Kumar Damodardas Mody respectively.

Gujarat University, the educational institution that recently shared details of Mr Modi’s master’s degree, said he had “slightly changed” his name by removing the word “Kumar” from it.

Meanwhile, on May 10, Delhi University confirmed that Mr. Modi’s bachelor’s degree, which was made public by the BJP, was genuine. At the same time, it emphasized that the school still retains all records related to his university graduation.

Delhi University also admitted that it had made a “minor error” in recording his graduation as 1979, as he had actually left the university a year earlier.

Meanwhile, the BJP party said that the opposition AAP party's deliberate attempt to dig up and attack the issue of Mr. Narendra Modi's qualifications was just part of a ploy by political opponents to insult the prime minister.

Those in the AAP have been unhappy with Mr Modi's rise from a tea seller at a railway station to head of the Indian government.

According to Tuoitre