Ahmedabad: Amid the ongoing row over the prime minister’s educational qualifications, Gujarat University on Sunday shared details of his MA degree, saying Narendra Modi scored 62.3 per cent as an external student of the university.
The details were shared after the Central Information Commission (CIC) directed GU to provide the relevant information to Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, who had recently criticised the functioning of the transparency panel.
“Narendra Damodardas Modi passed his MA in Political Science in 1983 with first class, securing 499 out of 800 marks, which comes to 62.3 per cent as an external student,” Vice-Chancellor M.N. Patel told PTI on Sunday.
Kejriwal, in a letter to the CIC in response to a right to information application seeking details of his electoral photo identity card, demanded that while he was ready to share information sought by RTI applicants, the CIC must also order disclosure of the educational qualifications of the PM.
After Kejriwal’s letter, the CIC had on Friday ordered Delhi University, from where the prime minister said he pursued his Bachelor of Arts course, and Gujarat University, from where he completed his MA, to reveal details of his educational qualifications.
Vice-Chancellor Patel said he had not received the CIC’s order till date but had come to know about it from the media, and would give the details to the applicant once he received the order.
“The details (of Modi’s degree) were sought through several RTO applications filed before the university, but we were not in a position to share the details under the RTI Act on technical grounds,” Patel said.
“The details of marks can only be provided to the candidate himself, and we do not provide details of university records beyond 20 years,” he said.
When asked about the details of Modi’s BA degree, Patel said GU did not have it.
“Modi did his MA as an external candidate. He secured 237 out of 400 marks in MA first year, and 262 out of 400 marks in MA second year,” Patel said giving the details.
“The breakup of marks in second year MA shows that Modi obtained 64 marks in political science, 62 marks in European and social political thought, 69 marks in modern India/political analysis, and 67 marks in political psychology,” he said.
The CIC, acting on the letter from Kejriwal, had asked Delhi University and Gujarat University to “make the best possible search for the information regarding degrees in the name of Mr Narendra Damodardas Modi in the year 1978 (Graduation in DU) and 1983 (Post Graduation in GU) and provide it to the appellant Mr Kejriwal as soon as possible”.
The genesis of the case is in two previous CIC orders and a scathing letter from Kejriwal to Information Commissioner Sridhar Acharyulu where he demanded that while he was ready to share information sought by RTI applicants, the CIC must also order disclosure of educational qualifications of the Prime Minister.
In a case related to one Neeraj Pandey, who sought information about the electoral photo identity card of the Delhi Chief Minister, Acharyulu had sought an explanation from Kejriwal for why he as an MLA should not be considered a public authority under the RTI Act and why his party too was not brought under the Act.
Kejriwal in his response did not object to disclosure of information about himself but raised the demand for information about the prime minister’s educational qualifications referring to the application of one Hans Raj Jain whose request for that information had been turned down, Acharyulu had noted.
“He stated that while the CIC wanted Mr Kejriwal’s information to be given, the CIC was obstructing the information about the degrees of Mr Modi, the Prime Minister. He expressed surprise over this and also doubted the objectivity of the commission,” Acharyulu said.
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