The New Indian has reported that the Congress lied about its former president and disqualified Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi from being a visiting fellow at the prestigious Cambridge University, citing certain documents obtained by them.
Cambridge University confirmed to The New Indian via email on Friday that Rahul is not a Visiting Fellow at the Cambridge Judge Business School. This will further humiliate Congress and Rahul, who have already been humiliated by Rahul’s disqualification from Parliament as a result of his conviction by the Surat court.
Cambridge University said in its response to New Indian said, “We confirm this letter is authentic. We assume that you will not publish the name of the individual as part of your story, whose role is to answer FOI requests in line with UK legislation, and the letter is in no way a ‘personal’ reply from her.”
Earlier, the congress party claimed that Rahul Gandhi was a visiting fellow at Cambridge in a tweet on February 16 and March 2 – the day when Rahul Gandhi delivered his speech criticizing Indian democracy at the Cambridge Judge Business School. In contrast to what Congress claims, a recent email from Cambridge reveals that he is an Honorary Non-Visiting Fellow at the Cambridge Judge Business School.
The Congress had shown Rahul as a Fellow (Finance) at Cambridge during his February-March visit to the UK. However, according to The New Indian, an anonymous University alumnus has now informed that “Rahul Gandhi is the only Honorary Non-Visiting Fellow in Finance who has absolutely no relevant qualifications or experience in the field of finance.”
According to an alumni source of The New Indian, “Rahul Gandhi in no specific measure has any “significant general contribution” in the field of finance. It is even farcical to attempt to defend him on this count by anyone, least of all, the University of Cambridge. So, the only criteria for his appointment as a fellow of finance is that he teaches a “substantial part” of a finance course. Instead, Rahul Gandhi began and centered most of his lecture around the Bharat Jodo Yatra. It is outrageous, to think that he holds an academic position in finance and ends up discussing his failing political project in India.”
He added,”It was a clear bluff by both Congress and Rahul to hoodwink the Indian masses that he was holding the event at the prestigious institution at their invitation. The truth is neither he is a fellow in Finance, nor Cambridge has ever extended any such invitation to him. This is called the Gandhi privilege that when you don’t attend a University or a college, you can still tom it as a degree and use phony credentials to build a case against own country and attempt to topple an elected government.”
Priyanka Gandhi made similar false claims on March 26 about the academic accomplishments of her brother, claiming that despite being derided by the BJP as “Pappu,” he has degrees from prestigious universities like Harvard and Cambridge. According to Priyanka, her brother holds an M.Phil. in Economics from Cambridge.
Priyanka Gandhi said, “Duniya ke sabse do bade siksha ke sansthan hai, woh waha se padhke aaye hai. Harvard aur Cambridge ki unki degree hai. Cambridge se unhe Economics me Masters Degree … M.phil degree unko mili hai (Rahul Gandhi has studied at two of the most prestigious institutions in the world – Harvard and Cambridge. He has an M.phil in Economics from Cambridge).” Rahul’s election affidavit, however, states that he holds an M.Phil. in Development Studies from Trinity College, Cambridge, not in Economics.
The profiles of other people who have been offered the same position as Rahul Gandhi show that the other people have the necessary qualifications required to be a fellow of Finance at Cambridge.
Rahul’s illustrious academic background, including his completion of a Bachelor’s degree from St. Stephen’s, Post Graduate and doctorate degrees from Harvard and Cambridge respectively, as well as his schooling at the prestigious Doon School, has now come under suspicion from a number of independent politicians and academicians in India.
Amit Malviya, the BJP’s national IT cell chief, has questioned Priyanka’s lie about Rahul Gandhi’s educational claim, raising doubts about whether he actually attended these institutions. “None of Rahul Gandhi’s election affidavits mention a degree from Harvard. Priyanka Vadra, just like her disqualified brother, is lying. Is there anything about the family that is not fake?” he said.
(with inputs from The New Indian)
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