Photo: Indian Express
The row over Maharashtra’s Education Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Vinod Tawde’s ‘unrecognised’ engineering degree escalated on Tuesday, as the oppositions demanded his immediate arrest, following the line of Delhi’s ex-law Minister and Aam Aadmi Party MLA Jitendra Singh Tomar, with the Congress party holding a demonstration here on Tuesday regarding the issue. Tawde, on Monday, found himself at the centre of an escalating controversy after it was revealed that his engineering college was not recognised by the government and he had used the degree granted by it although he was aware of the fact.
“First he must resign and then he should be put under arrest. There cannot be different laws for two people,” stated Maharashtra’s former Chief Minister and Congress MLA Prithviraj Chavan. Leader of Opposition in the State Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil warned that the Congress would not let the upcoming monsoon session function if Tawde fails to resign.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) also demanded his resignation. “…The Education Minister of this State has a fake degree and the BJP chose to ignore the matter completely. Is it the party with difference?” asked NCP’s leader Dhananjay Munde.
Tawde had claimed that he had done nothing wrong and was proud of his college Dyaneshwar Vidyapeeth in Pune from where he has reportedly completed his engineering course. On Tuesday, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis stated that there is no question of his resignation as his degree certificates are correct and genuine.
Tags: Education Minister Maharashtra Vinod Tawde
