Opposition NCP today alleged that Maharashtra Education Minister Vinod Tawde, who was recently embroiled in a row over his "engineering degree", had not even cleared Class 12 and he had used a proxy candidate to clear Class 10 exam, charges which the Minister refuted.
Addressing a press conference here, NCP spokesman Nawab Malik said, "Maharashtra could witness a scam more serious than Vyapam if Tawde continues as Minister.
"CETs are held for medical and engineering courses in the state, like Vyapam's exams in Madhya Pradesh. Tawde heads the medical and technical education portfolio. Mumbai University and Pune university are renowned world over, and if a Minister like Tawde is at the helm, the situation could be worse," Malik said.
The NCP leader claimed that despite the revelation that Tawde had obtained engineering degree from "a fake" university which was not authorised, he continues to cite BE (Electronics) as his educational qualification.
"Tawde hasn't even passed Class 12. I have evidence. A dummy candidate wrote his Class 10," Malik alleged, demanding an ACB inquiry into Tawde's educational qualifications.
Malik, who was Higher and Technical Education Minister in 2004, said some students had approached him for admission to engineering but they had not cleared Class 12.
"They showed me the advertisement of Dyaneshwar Vidyapeeth, which enrolled students who had failed Class 12, in engineering course," he said.
He had ordered an inquiry and "we filed affidavit in the High Court in 2005 and all such universities were closed," he said.
However, when asked for his comment by reporters, Tawde dismissed all these allegations as ridiculous.
"Malik is levelling baseless charges. I will quit the politics if allegations are proved correct, or else Malik should quit politics," the BJP leader said.
