‘Elitist’: RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary disagrees with AAP's ‘Degree Dikhao’ campaign

Disagreeing with the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) ‘Degree Dikhao’ campaign, Rashtriya Janta Dal (RLD) chief Jayant Chaudhary has described the campaign as ‘elitist,' adding that such an initiative did not befit a party governing two major states.

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“I have an MSC degree, my father was an #IITian & my grandfather wrote economic treatise on sustainable & equitable development. But I feel this particular political campaign focused on education qualification is elitist & does not befit a party in power in 2 important states!” he tweeted on Sunday.

On April 4, too, Jayant Chaudhary had said ‘raising a fuss on educational qualifications of leader is elitist.’

“Until universal literacy is achieved, cannot bar anyone from aspiring to a position as a public representative,” the RLD chief had said in his tweet.

What is the issue?

In recent days, the AAP, which is in power in Delhi and Punjab, has been targeting prime minister Narendra Modi over his educational qualification. On Sunday, therefore, it launched its ‘Degree Dikhao’ (show your educational degree) campaign, under which, according to the Arvind Kejriwal-led party, each day, an AAP member will display his/her educational certificate publicly.

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Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal holds a degree in mechanical engineering from IIT Kharagpur.

What have other parties said?

The ruling BJP has slammed Kejriwal and AAP for questioning PM Modi's qualification. Among opposition parties, Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has said the opposition's focus should be on more important issues.