Now, the ruling JDU has put a big question mark on the “so-called DLitt degree” of the state BJP chief Samrat Choudhary. Claiming that Chaudhary’s degree is fake, the party issued a 72-hour ultimatum to clarify on it failing which the party would expose him.
Talking to mediapersons here on Monday, the chief spokesman of the JDU Neeraj Kumar said “California Public University USA ” which purported to have issued the DLitt degree does not exist anymore. Referring to Choudhary’s election affidavit, the JDU spokesman said the BJP chief filed an affidavit with the Election Commission in 2005 where he wrote his name as “Rakesh Kumar” s/o Shakuni Choudhary.
“But in 2010, he gave an affidavit with the name Samrat Choudhary alias Rakesh Kumar (s/o Shakuni Choudhary). Again in 2020, he had written Samrat Choudhary (s/o Shakuni Choudhary),” Kumar told the reporters.
“When we searched for universities in the USA, we did not find any with the name of California Public University in the USA. “Which new university is this? BJP state chief did not mention details of the degree, registration, roll number, year of enrolment and grades obtained for DLitt,” Neeraj Kumar asked.
Displaying a copy of EC’s affidavits, Neeraj Kumar pointed out that he had searched for his marksheet in the website but failed. “We have heard about universities like Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard and California but have not heard of any such university with the name of “California Public University,” Choudhary said, claiming that such a university does not exist anymore.
Inquiries revealed that Choudhary’s affidavit (dated 24/06/2020) mentioned about “highest educational qualification Doctor of Litt California Public University USA and Madurai Kamaraj University,” while details of date, year of passing, etc. about his degree are not mentioned in the affidavit.
Samrat Choudhary has been president of Bihar state unit of the BJP from March 24, 2023. He belongs to Kushwaha (Koeri caste) and has been the OBC face of the BJP for a long time. He also remained a member of the legislative assembly and minister in Bihar during the RJD /JDU government. Currently, he is the member of the Upper House.
Fifty-five-year-old Choudhary belongs to a family of politicians. His father, Shakuni Choudhary, and mother Parvati Devi served as MLA/MP.
Choudhary’s ancestral village is in Lakhanpur in Tarapur block in the Munger district.