Union minister, Smriti Irani’s degree row or her education qualification is once again in the news. She has not completed her graduation, according to her affidavit for the Rajya Sabha elections in Gujarat. On the other hand, Balwantsinh Rajput, who recently resigned from the Congress, has emerged as the richest candidate with assets worth Rs 315 crore.
Irani, whose educational qualification attracted controversy after the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, has clearly stated in her affidavit that she has not finished her graduation yet. “Bachelor of Commerce, Part 1. Three-year degree course not completed,” reads her latest affidavit.
In her 2014 affidavit, she had only declared ‘Bachelor of Commerce Part 1, School of Open Learning (Correspondence), University of Delhi, 1994’. Irani, together with her husband owns assets worth around Rs 7 crore, she mentioned.
For the three Rajya Sabha seats in Gujarat that would go for polls on 8 August, the BJP has fielded Shah, Irani and Rajput. The Congress has nominated Ahmed Patel. They have filed their nominations and the affidavits have been uploaded on the state Assembly website.
