Truth about Rahul’s MPhil
By Express News Service 07th April 2009 02:55 AM
CHENNAI: Rahul Gandhi appears to have been economical with the truth on his affidavit while filing his election nomination papers in Amethi this weekend.
In the affidavit, he states that he obtained an MPhil from Trinity College of the University of Cambridge, UK, in 1995, in Developmental Economics. A certificate from the University shows that not only has he got dates wrong, he has even got the name of the course he took incorrect.
Worse, the man touted as a future prime minister failed one of his four papers.
Rahul got 58 per cent in “National Economic Planning and Policy” (according to the grading scale given in the certificate, 60 per cent is the minimum for a pass).
The certificate, shown alongside, was issued a year ago by Diana Kazemi, the secretary of the department of Development Studies (and not Developmental Economics) in which Rahul Gandhi studied.
He enrolled under the name ‘Raul Vinci’, a pseudonym given by the British authorities in a common practice as there are a good number of VVIP wards from around the world enrolled at British educational institutions. The pseudonym came to light during the 2004 elections in the Telegraph and the Hindu.
According to the University, Rahul read for the MPhil in 2004- 05, and not in 1994-95, as stated in his affidavit.
His affidavit’s other claim, to have obtained his Bachelors from Rollins College in Florida, USA, is true (and is a departure from earlier claims by ‘supporters’ that he graduated from Harvard). He also briefly attended St Stephen’s College in Delhi, gaining admission through the sports quota.
His mother (and Congress president) Sonia Gandhi was also in a minor controversy in 2004 over her educational qualifications.
Her nomination papers’ affidavit claimed she obtained a certificate in English from Lennox Cook School, University of Cambridge, in 1965. After it was revealed that the school had no affiliation to the University, Sonia claimed that the error on the affidavit was the result of a secretarial typing mistake.
Comments(2)
Excellent from non paid media like others paidmedia.
Posted by Thakur Naveen Salaria at 04/09/2013 15:47 Reply to this Report abuse
Both mother and son to be disqualified due to false affidavit.Is the election commission has not have any machinary to verify the truth?
Posted by anilkumar at 04/09/2013 23:12 Reply to this Report abuse
http://newindianexpress.com/states/tamil_nadu/article55419.ece
May 13, 2013.
Mr. Pranab Mukherjee,
President of India,
Rashtrapati Bhavan,
New Delhi.
Dear Mr. President,
I am enclosing with this letter a copy of the news item which had appeared in the Indian Express sometime ago. It carries a facsimile of a certificate issued by the Secretary of the Development Studies Committee, University of Cambridge. While I was on a visit to the University two years ago, I had visited this Department as also spoke with the concerned authority in the University. I was informed in confidence that an individual by name Mr. Raul Vinci was the pseudonym of Mr. Rahul Gandhi (now MP) and that he had taken this pseudonym for his personal security. The enclosed news item from New Indian Express, Chennai states the same. Hence the matter requires investigation since Mr. Gandhi is a MP. Question also arises how Mr. Gandhi had paid the necessary fees for being a student in the University and from which bank account (Pictet Bank, Zurich or from India with RBI permission)? Was he also, for the sake of his security, traveling abroad to and fro UK on an Italian passport in the name of Rahul Vinci?
In view of the fact that Mr. Rahul Gandhi is a Member of Parliament, this would attract proceedings for disqualification under Article 103 of the Constitution. Hence I urge you to have this matter probed into in a comprehensive way by the Election Commission.
Yours sincerely,
( SUBRAMANIAN SWAMY )
Encl: a/a