Abhijeet Dipke on Monday offered to make public his scholarship and education loan documents and challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to disclose his academic degree, the dare coming after a Right to Information (RTI) activist sought an inquiry into the finances of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder's family.
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Dipke responded via a video posted on X (formerly Twitter) to the complaint filed by Surat-based RTI activist Amit Tiwari, who has sought an investigation into how Dipke's father, Bhagwanrao Dipke, a retired Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) junior engineer, financed his son's higher education abroad.
"I am ready to reveal my scholarship letter & education loan letter. Will the emperor show his degree?," Dipke wrote while sharing the video.
In the video, he said in Hindi: "Hello everyone, I just saw that a BJP worker has filed an RTI on me and he wants to know how I completed my education. So I want to ask him, will your leader show their degree? I am ready to show my scholarship letter and education loan letter. Will your leader show their real degree?"
He added: "And I don't understand what is the problem with their education? If an ordinary boy has studied in Boston University, then why do you have a problem? Why are you guys so against education?"
In a separate interview with PTI, Dipke said the protests in Bangladesh and Nepal were "being used to defame us; we are different."
Exiled Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasrin had earlier said that the CJP protests reminded her of her home country which had descended into chaos and religious fanaticism after the student revolt.
Dipke's remarks on his education came after Tiwari filed complaints on August 1 with multiple authorities, including the Maharashtra government, seeking a probe into the financial status of Dipke's father. The activist questioned how a retired government employee was able to fund his son's overseas education.
Tiwari has also approached the Election Commission of India and Central GST authorities over a legal defence fund announced by senior advocate and Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal for CJP supporters facing police cases linked to the NEET paper leak protests.
Tiwari has also written to the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), seeking an examination of whether 18 per cent GST would apply to the Rs 1 crore pledged by Sibal towards legal aid for CJP protesters.
Old row over PM Modi degrees
Dipke's challenge stirred up afresh a long-running political controversy over Prime Minister Modi's educational qualifications.
In May 2016, then BJP president Amit Shah and then Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had displayed copies of Modi's BA degree from Delhi University and MA from Gujarat University at a press conference in New Delhi. They said Modi completed his BA as an external student in 1978 and his MA in 1983.
Opposition parties and critics have questioned the authenticity of the degrees, while the government has declined requests by RTI applicants seeking access to Modi's graduation certificate.
BJP-released mark sheets had shown that Modi obtained his BA (Pass) degree from Delhi University through a correspondence course in the third division after twice failing his examinations.
Then Gujarat University vice-chancellor M.N. Patel had confirmed in 2016 that Modi had earned an MA in political science from his institution in 1983, securing a first class with 62.3 per cent as an external student.