"We want the immediate resignation of Smriti Irani. The education minister of the country having a question mark on her educational degree is a huge disgrace. We want the government to remove Irani the way Delhi government removed its former minister Jitender Tomar," said Delhi Youth Congress President Amit Malik, who also took part in the protest.
NSUI members climbed on top of police barriers and raised slogans against the government and Irani. The protesters held up banners demanding her resignation.
"We consider this as a dark day in the history of this country that the education minister herself is being probed for her fake educational qualifications," said Amrish Ranjan Pandey, national spokesperson of NSUI.
Holding that it is unfortunate that the court has given this order at a crucial time when lakhs of students across the country are looking forward to their admissions for higher studies, he said that an independent and impartial inquiry against the Union minister should be held keeping in mind the future of all these students.
The complaint was filed by freelance writer Ahmer Khan, who alleged that Irani, in her three affidavits before the Election Commission (EC) while filing nominations for her candidature for Lok Sabha as well as Rajya Sabha polls, had purportedly given different details about her educational qualification.