Former Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal’s daughter Harshita Kejriwal has scored 96 per cent in her CBSE Class XII examination. She was a student of the Science field and says that she now aims to make it to the Indian Institute of Technology just like her father.

Harshita said that she was satisfied with her score and is now looking forward to follow her father’s footsteps. “My parents are my role models. I want to go to IIT. There’s no second option for me,” Harshita said.

Harshita has scored the highest in Physics and says that the subject is her favourite.

She also said that she has been focused and was not affected by her father’s political ups and downs. “I was not affected by my father’s agitations, winning and losing elections,” Harshita said.

Breaking her silence on her educational qualification row, HRD Minister Smriti Irani, Thursday, sent out an appeal that she be solely judged by her work.

“Extraneous circumstances have been created to ensure that my attention is deviated from the body of work I have been entrusted with. I have been judged by my organisation on the capacity to deliver on assignments,” she said while talking to reporters here.

“Humbly request all to do that. Judge me by my work, I would only say this,” Smriti added.

However, she chose not to respond to questions on the discrepancies in her poll affidavits.

The new HRD Minister is at the centre of a massive row triggered by Congress leader Ajay Maken after he questioned her ability to deliver as she is not even a graduate.

“What a Cabinet of Mr. Modi? HRD Minister (looking after education) Smriti Irani is not even a graduate! Look at her affidavit at ECI site pg 11,” he had tweeted on Tuesday.

Later, the Congress also came to the fore pointing out discrepancies in the poll affidavits filed by her in 2004 Lok Sabha polls and the one filed by her in 2011 Rajya Sabha elections and in her 2014 affidavit, when she contested against Rahul Gandhi from Amethi.

While the 2004 affidavit said she had completed a Bachelor of Arts from Delhi university’s school of correspondence in 1996, the 2011 submission mentioned her “highest qualification” as B Com Part I, again from DU’s school of correspondence, in 1994.

The claim of B Com Part I was also made in her 2014 declaration.

The BJP has strongly defended Smriti Irani and said Congress leaders should leave their “arrogance” behind after the party’s defeat in the Lok Sabha polls and introspect.

“We want to advise Congress leaders that after country’s people rejected them in Lok Sabha elections, they should now leave their arrogance behind and introspect,” BJP spokesperson Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said.

He said the party was defeated in elections due to the “arrogance” of Congress leaders but they are still not ready to leave that behind.

“Congress leaders should now stop using abusive words against BJP leaders. Congress should respect the mandate of the people,” he said.

Smriti’s cabinet colleagues Uma Bharti and Santosh Gangwar fired a counter shot at the Congress by demanding to know how educated was its president Sonia Gandhi.

A fire broke out at a 17-storey building in Surat. The fire broke out at around 9 am in Orchid Complex, a building used as a godown by textile traders. No casualties have been reported so far.

“The fire erupted at Orchid tower in Vipul House, a market of sarees, located in front of Sardar market in Puna Kumbhania area of the city,” a fire brigade official said.

The fire brigade has also declared a ‘brigade call’ and deployed 170 fire fighters, and almost 80 fire vehicles were on the spot, the fire official said.

When more than 16 fire engines are called on a spot, a Brigade Call is declared.

“There are 12 floors in the building which mostly have cloth material establishments,” the official said. The cause of the blaze is yet to be ascertained, he said.

A man, along with his mother and two other family members, has been jailed for seven years by a Delhi court for the death of his wife following dowry demand with the judge saying the victim had been treated cruelly and had died in unnatural circumstances.

Additional Sessions Judge Virender Kumar Goyal awarded the jail term to Manjeet Singh, 31, his brother Mukesh Singh, 38, sister-in-law Sheela, 36, and mother Omwati, 55, after holding them guilty in the dowry death case in which the woman, Jyoti, had died within five years of her marriage.

“The incident has taken place within five years of the marriage. Accused have treated Jyoti with cruelty prior to her death and had harassed her. The death has taken place in unnatural circumstances. It is also proved from the deposition of prosecution witnesses that soon before her death, Jyoti was treated with cruelty by the accused for demand of dowry.”

“Besides the injury on neck appeared due to hanging, deceased was also found sustaining other injuries, which have not been opined as old one nor have been explained by the accused persons,” the court.

It imposed a fine of Rs. 5,000 each on the four convicts, residents of Sultanpuri.

It also awarded a compensation of Rs. four lakh to the two-and-a-half-year daughter of Jyoti on account of loss of love and affection and the cost of upbringing and maintenance of the minor.

Out of the compensation amount, Rs. 2.5 lakh and Rs. 1.5 lakh would be paid by Manjeet and Mukesh respectively.

The court, however, acquitted the four of the charges of murdering the victim, saying no evidence has been brought on record that they murdered her and it has been proved that she committed suicide by hanging herself.

According to the prosecution, Jyoti, who had married Manjeet in January 2007, was found hanging in her matrimonial house in November 2011.

The case was registered on the complaint of Jyoti’s brother alleging that her husband and in-laws used to harass and torture her for dowry and also beat her.

When their demands were fulfilled, they kept Jyoti well and thereafter, again they used to harass her, her brother had told the police.

A day before Jyoti’s death, her in-laws had called her mother and a heated conversation took place between them and when they tried calling the victim, her phone was switched off. The next day, they came to know that she had died by hanging herself, he had said.

While convicting Jyoti’s husband and in-laws, the court said from the deposition of witnesses, prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt that demand of dowry and cash was raised and twice Rs. 50,000 were given to Manjeet and his family members and for fulfilment of this demand, Jyoti was harassed and treated with cruelty.

Manjeet sought leniency in sentence saying he had lost his wife in this incident and was having clean antecedents.

Mukesh and Sheela submitted that a lenient view be taken as they have to take care of their 10 and 12-year-old kids whose life would be miserable without parents. Omwati pleaded that she was an aged widow and was also suffering from various ailments and a lenient view be taken towards her.

The court awarded the jail term to the four family members after considering their age, character and antecedents.