"Typo" to blame for "false" information on Smriti Irani's qualification: BJP

NEW DELHI: BJP today blamed "typographical error" for the alleged false information on educational qualification submitted by HRD Minister Smriti Irani and rejected any comparison between her and AAP leader Jitender Singh Tomar who has been jailed in a fake degree case.

"One should know the difference between a fake document and a typographical error. This case (relating to Irani) is not for fake documents," BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said after oppositon parties demanded her resignation as a Delhi court took cognizance of a complaint filed against Irani for allegedly giving false information on her educational qualification.

Congress and AAP drew a parallel with the case of Irani with that of Tomar who resigned as a minister in Delhi government after his arrest.

"You cannot compare oranges and apples. In the case of Tomar, there is a police investigation which has proved beyond doubt that there is a criminal act of a fake degree, going ahead and contesting an election on it and then being the Law Minister," another BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli said.

He said that in the case of Smriti Irani, the court has spoken about maintainability of the complaint, which is the first step of a legal process as to whether there is a ground in terms of jurisdiction. "It has neither any implication on conviction nor exoneration."

Patra said the court has only taken cognizance of the complaint and asked the person who has filed the complaint that "you have to give pre-summoning evidence as to why she should be summoned. Why hue and cry over something which has not gone to the level of verdict?"

The complaint was filed by freelance writer Ahmer Khan who alleged that Irani, in her three affidavits before the Election Commission (EC) while filing nominations for her candidature for Lok Sabha as well as Rajya Sabha polls, had given different details about her educational qualification.