In the wake of her latest affidavit, which said she was just a 12th pass and not a graduate, as stated in her earlier affidavit of 2014, Congress on Friday demanded debarring of Union Textile Minister Smriti Irani from the election process, for hiding facts from the Election Commission.
Ms Smriti, who had filed her nomination papers from Amethi seat on Thursday, had said in the affidavit that she passed CBSE 10th and 12th board examinations from Holy Child Auxilium School in 1991 and 1993, respectively.
She further disclosed that she joined the Bachelor of Commerce Part-1 from School of Open Learning (Correspondence), University of Delhi in 1994, but did not complete the three-year course.
The Congress leaders are now demanding that Ms Irani, who claimed herself as graduate and given the same in her affidavit in the past, should be debarred from the elections.
Congress MLC Deepak Singh in a statement here said that EC should take cognisance of the wrong statement filed by the Union Minister in the past and action should be taken against her.
“Smriti Irani should face consequence for giving wrong affidavit in the Election Commission in the past elections and her present nomination from Amethi should be rejected,” Ms Singh, who hails from Amethi demanded.
The Congress leader made it clear that the entire BJP, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given false undertakings and the example of Ms Irani is certainly a gross misuse of law.
In the past during the 2004 Lok Sabha polls, when Ms Irani contested from Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha seat in Delhi, in her affidavit, she had claimed that she was a graduate, but when she contested from Amethi in 2014, she said she was B Com pass.
Later, a debate broke out about her educational qualification and the matter even went to the court, when she was Union Minister for HRD.
Ms Irani is pitted against Congress president Rahul Gandhi in Amethi.
