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Delhi Jal Board Vice-Chairman Kapil Mishra was on Wednesday appointed Delhi law minister. His predecessor, Jitendra Singh Tomar, resigned on Tuesday night in the midst of a controversy over his degree. Tomar is in police custody. He was arrested on complaint of Delhi Bar Council for allegedly possessing a fake degree.
On Wednesday, Ram Manohar Lohia Avadh University, Faizabad, where Tomar claims to have been a BSc student, denied having any record to corroborate it. Tilak Manjhi Bhagalpur University, Bihar, where the former law minister claims to have studied law, has called his degree fake.
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Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) — in whose government Tomar was a minister — has claimed that his arrest was an example of “vendetta politics” of the Centre and Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia on Wednesday met Jung to apprise him of Mishra’s inclusion. Sources said they also discussed ways to coordinate better. Known to be close to Kejriwal, Mishra is also the Karawal Nagar MLA. The new law minister has no law degree — a fact that is likely to dent AAP’s credibility, according to some sources.
The party, however, continued to be aggressive. Its Delhi convenor Ashutosh said, those who opposed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government often paid the price. On micro-blogging site Twitter, he wrote: “Tomorrow ,don’t be surprised if AAP leaders are killed in road accidents. But we will fight.” Tomar has been taken to Faizabad for questioning. Delhi Police chief B S Bassi said the cops were investing a fake degree racket.
ALSO READ: AAP's Delhi law minister Jitender Singh Tomar arrested in fake degree case
Another AAP leader was in the news for the wrong reasons by the evening. Delhi Commission for Women served a notice on Somnath Bharti after his wife Lipika Bharti complained of domestic violence. He has been asked to reply by June 26.
HC refuses to stay order
A vacation bench of Delhi high court on Wednesday refused to stay the Union home ministry notification restricting Delhi government’s Anti-Corruption Branch prosecuting central government officials. The court has clubbed the fresh public interest litigation with a similar petition which will now come up in August.
