Degree war: Smriti Irani slams Congress for triggering controversy on her education
Judge me by my work, says the Union HRD minister
New Delhi: Speaking for the first time on the controversy of her educational qualification, Union human resource development minister Smriti Irani on Thursday blamed “extraneous circumstances” being created to deviate her attention from work and asked people to judge her by her work.
“Extraneous circumstances have been created to ensure that my attention is deviated from the body of work I have been entrusted with. I will humbly request all of you that judge me by my work and I will not add anything to the statement that I have made,” Ms Irani said.
The Union HRD minister said she has been judged by her organisation with regard to her capacity to deliver on assignments.
The minister’s reaction came two days after the Opposition Congress launched a broadside against her, questioning her ability to deliver as HRD minister as she was “not even a graduate.”
Ms Irani has been at the centre of a raging controversy over her educational qualification after it emerged that she had made contradictory declarations when she contested Lok Sabha elections in 2004 and 2014.
The issue was first raised by Madhu Kishwar, a social activist, who had pointed out the fact that Ms Irani, just a 12th pass, has been made HRD Minister. Reacting to her series of tweets on the issue, Congress leader Ajay Maken had also taken a jibe at the Union minsiter’s educational qualification.
“What a Cabinet of Mr Modi? HRD minister (looking after education) Smriti Irani is not even a graduate! Look at her affidavit at ECI site pg 11,” he had tweeted.
Conflicting views have emerged within the Congress over the issue as yet another party leader on Thursday struck a different note saying “nobody” should have anything to do with the qualification of a minister.
“As far as education is concerned, I have earlier also said that nobody should have anything to do with the qualification. The Prime Minister has the right to decide whom to allocate a particular ministry,” former Rajya Sabha MP Rashid Alvi said. She said that he agrees that they (ministers) should be judged on the basis of their performance, whether they were successful or not.