The BJP on Friday hit out at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and accused him of “peddling lies” against Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the Gujarat High Court set aside the Central Information Commission (CIC) order asking the Gujarat University to provide information on Modi’s degree to the AAP leader.  The court also imposed a cost of Rs 25,000 on Kejriwal and asked him to deposit the amount within four weeks with the Gujarat State Legal Services Authority (GSLSA).

Head of BJP’s IT department, Amit Malviya, said, “Gujarat High Court slams Arvind Kejriwal, imposes a fine of Rs 25,000 on him for filing frivolous petitions, asking about Prime Minister’s degree.”

BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla tweeted, “Lying & making obnoxious remarks, peddling lies against the chair of the PM has become a fashion & Kejriwal is in strong competition with Rahul Gandhi in this regard. But today he has been shown his place by High Court!”

He added, “Hope Kejriwal ji doesn’t make scurrilous comments on judiciary like Rahul now! That would count as being ‘literate and yet uneducated’.”

Another BJP spokesperson Tom Vadakkan said, “Nemesis is fast catching up”.

In a statement, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said, “What Kejriwal is doing reflects his frustration. He is naturally frustrated as his Government Ministers are in jail on charges of corruption and being involved in a liquor scam. His comments are a consequence of this.”

Patra’s offensive against Kejriwal comes in the backdrop of the AAP leader’s attack on Modi over his education and the issue of alleged corruption.

Patra noted that the Delhi Chief Minister had to apologise to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and late Arun Jaitley for levelling allegations against them, after they took him to court. The AAP leader settled the matter out of court after apologising for his “unverified” allegations, including those relating to corruption. “History is repeating itself today,” Patra said. “It is not a new thing for Kejriwal or his party,” he added.

Does not the country have the right to know the academic qualification of the Prime Minister, Kejriwal asked on Friday after the Gujarat High Court set aside an order of the CIC for providing information on Modi’s degree to him.

Reacting to the verdict, Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi, “Doesn’t the country even have the right to know how much the PM has studied? He vehemently opposed showing the degree in the court. Why? And those who demand to see the degree will be fined? What’s happening?” “Illiterate or less educated PM is very dangerous for the country,” the Aam Aadmi Party chief said in the tweet.

 AAP Rajya Sabha MP and national spokesperson Sanjay Singh termed the verdict “surprising”.

 “CIC passed an order and asked Gujarat University to provide information on Narendra Modi’s degree. Then, the university files an appeal against the CIC order but fine has been slapped on Arvind Kejriwal. What kind of decision is this?” Singh said at a Press conference.