After the Gujarat High Court today issued notice to state Minister Shankar Chaudhari over a PIL which alleged that he had obtained a fake degree, the Minister today accused Congress of sponsoring the petition.
"The petition was filed (in the Gujarat High Court) by a Congress worker and so it is evident that the plea was sponsored by Congress," Chaudhari, Minister of State (MoS) for Health and Family Welfare, told reporters here.
"However, as the matter is pending before the High Court, it will not be proper for me to make any comments on the sub-judice issue. But I have faith in judiciary...I have faith that truth will win," he said.
Earlier today, a petition was filed by Farsu Goklani, a senior worker of Congress, in the HC alleging that Chaudhari has a fake MBA degree.
Goklani said in the petition that Chaudhari completed class 12 in 2011 and as per his election affidavit of the year 2012, he had obtained an MBA degree within a year.
After hearing the submissions, the HC issued notices to the state government, election commission and Chaudhari seeking their replies over the allegations.
Meanwhile, Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) spokesperson Manish Doshi hit back at Chaudhari stating that the Minister should rather clarify on whether his MBA degree is real or fake.
"Shankarbhai Chaudhari should not go into arguments that the petition was sponsored by Congress or not, but he should rather clarify on whether the MBA degree is real or fake," Doshi said in a press statement.
"Chaudhari should clarify on how an institute can give an MBA degree just within one year after completion of class 12 and whether or not that the institute was involved in numerous cases of giving fake degrees and also whether any complaint was lodged against that institute for making fake degrees," Doshi added.
Seeking Chaudhari's resignation on "moral grounds", the GPCC spokesperson asked the BJP to tell people if any action would be taken against Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani, Maharashtra Education Minister Vinod Tawde and Chaudhari "for their alleged involvement in the fake degree issues, as was done in the case of former Delhi law minister Jitender Singh Tomar".
