Facile questions on Modi's merit to be PM

The former Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's Man Friday, Manish Sisodia, issued a letter to the public on Friday to ponder over the educational qualifications of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi, questioning whether his low educational qualification is good for the country. This is in tune with the latest political attack of the AAP against the Prime Minister. The issue should set in motion a larger debate on democracy itself and not on Modi's educational qualification.

In its zeal to attack Modi 'brilliantly,' the educated duo of Kejriwal and Sisodia, which faces many corruption charges (despite being educated) and which promises freebies to the electorate wherever they go in spite of their literate qualifications, is forgetting the basic tenets of democracy. Or do they think that they are much better qualified than the Constitution writers? Are they a cut above the members of our Constituent Assembly that approved the laboriously drafted Constitution of the country?

"When the PM says that radar can't detect an aircraft flying behind clouds, he becomes a subject of mockery in the entire world. School and college students mock him," he said and added "Don't know what papers they (foreign country heads) make him sign, because the PM doesn't understand because he is less educated." The former Education Minister of Delhi should know better that the Prime Ministers don't sign any papers just like that. There is this Prime Minister's Office. Again, he should have interacted with any of the senior officials who attend the meetings of the Prime Minister to know how diligently the PM goes through every aspect. Highly qualified bureaucrats often shower encomiums on the PM over his depth of understanding over many subjects.

Alleging that 60,000 schools were shut down in recent years, Manish Sisodia said it shows that education is not a priority for the government at all. This educated former Minister should have known that education was a State subject initially and later it became a concurrent list topic. The likes of Kejriwal and Sisodia are lucky to be born into families of decent means unlike the Prime Minister who comes from a poor background. This argument goes against the very idea of democracy as it would deprive a majority of people from the right to contest in elections. A representative of the people needs to understand people and get things done for them. This does not require a graduate degree. More than 90% of the eligible population do not have graduate degrees. It would deprive a majority of people from the right to contest in elections.

If graduate degrees like BA, B Com, BE and others are made mandatory, then more than 90 per cent of the eligible population would be denied the opportunity to contest in elections.

Also, it is more important that the representative of the people understand people and get things done for them. Those questioning Modi on this count are in fact attacking our democratic roots. What next? A mechanism like UPSC to select the Prime Minister and Chief Ministers? Will there be a common entrance examination? What should a Prime Minister be? A software engineer? An MBA graduate from IIM? A medical doctor or an academic? The morally and ideologically bankrupt AAP should clarify?