57% of AAP MLAs graduate, 43% either Class XII or Class V pass: Record

57% of AAP MLAs graduate, 43% either Class XII or Class V pass: Record

Chandigarh: Though the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has set off a campaign asking for a Prime Minister to be an educated one, in all, only 57 per cent of AAP MLAs in Punjab are graduate. Ironically, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is not a graduate, reveals the record. Mann is only Class XII pass, according to the affidavit submitted by him while contesting the state Assembly elections last year. Mann had taken admission in B.Com, however, he didn’t complete the degree. Many ministers in the Punjab Cabinet are either Class X or Class XII pass.

Laljit Singh Bhullar, who is the Transport Minister, is Class XII pass. Similarly, ministers Anmol Gagan Maan, Bram Jimpa, Lal Chand and Chetan Singh Jouramajra are Class XII pass. Punjab NRI Affairs and Agriculture Minister Kuldeep Dhaliwal is only Class X pass. Around 53 of the total 92 AAP MLAs are graduates while the rest are either Class XII or Class V pass.

Recently, AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal had said anyone could befool Prime Minister Narendra Modi since he was not educated enough and launched “Degree Dikhao Campaign” in an apparent attack on the PM. In India, there is no educational bar for a leader or for a voter. Anyone above the age of 18 can vote and above the age of 25 years can contest elections and become the prime minister, if chosen by majority in the lower house of Parliament.

Days after the party started the campaign for an educated PM, AAP declared Sushil Kumar Rinku as their candidate for the Jalandhar bypoll. He is only Class XII pass. AAP chief spokesperson Malvinder Singh Kang said, “There is no suspicion about the veracity of educational qualifications of our leaders, including the CM. Modi had made several non-scientific claims, which had left everyone embarrassed. These had raised doubts over his educational qualification. The PM should be highly qualified.”