PM Modi declines to accept honorary doctorate from BHU

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has declined to receive an honorary doctorate from Banaras Hindu University, citing his policy of not accepting such degrees, official sources said in New Delhi on Thursday. 

Modi will be visiting BHU on February 22 to attend its convocation during which the University had proposed to confer him with honorary Doctorate of Law. BHU, in a statement, had said it proposed to confer Doctor of Laws (LLD) (honoris causa) on Modi in recognition of his "yeoman services as an innovator, reformer and an outstanding leader in public service and governance".

It had requested for his consent but the Prime Minister has said he will not accept the doctorate, the sources said. This is not the first time that Modi has declined such a doctorate. In the run up to his US visit in 2014, a university in Louisiana had proposed to confer an honorary doctorate on the Prime Minister in recognition of his contribution towards social transformation, especially for empowering women and minorities in Gujarat, to which he did not agree.

Even as chief minister, he has declined several honorary doctorates from various universities.