Bihar’s ruling Janata Dal (United) party has accused the state’s BJP leader Samrat Chaudhary of falsely claiming to hold a degree from a university in California. Neeraj Kumar, JD(U)’s chief spokesperson, said that Chaudhary had provided false information about his educational background and that his degree was fake. He demanded that Chaudhary clarify the discrepancies in his academic records within 72 hours or he will expose him.
Kumar stated that in Chaudhary’s 2005 election affidavit, he filed his name as Rakesh Kumar s/o Sakuni Chaudhary. In 2010, he reportedly gave his affidavit under the name Samrat Chaudhary alias Rakesh Kumar s/o Sakuni. In the 2020 election, he had written Samrat Chaudhary s/o Sakuni Chaudhary. Kumar raised concerns that Chaudhary has claimed to hold a D-Litt degree from California Public University, which is apparently not a valid university in the United States.
The JD(U) spokesperson further added that after searching for universities in the US, they did not find ‘California Public University’ and questioned what grade Chaudhary had obtained. Additionally, Kumar added that they attempted to find Chaudhary’s mark sheet and roll number but were unable to do so. Kumar expressed concern over the issue of fake degrees in the country and mentioned prominent leaders such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Smriti Irani, and Vinod Tawre.
Kumar criticized Chaudhary’s past, stating that he spent most of his student life playing games and it was unclear how much he would play political games now that he is in public life. The JD(U) party has stressed the importance of authenticity in educational credentials and emphasized the need for leaders to not misrepresent themselves while holding public positions.
