‘Fake’ degree controversy: Under siege, Jitender Singh Tomar tells Arvind Kejriwal of ‘BJP plot’
Says he has given proof degree is valid; party will wait for HC hearing.
Tomar said senior BJP leaders are trying to sully his image by resorting to falsehood. (Source: Express Archive)
Under intense pressure from opposition parties for his alleged fake degree, Delhi Law Minister Jitender Singh Tomar on Thursday wrote to party chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, alleging a conspiracy behind the controversy and dismissing the charges against him as “baseless”.
The AAP, meanwhile, maintained that it would wait for Tomar’s reply to the Delhi High Court before taking any action.
“I have sent a letter to the chief minister to clarify my stand on the issue. I have given all the proofs in support of my stand and to shown that my degree is valid,” Tomar said, protesting that there was a plot to malign his image.
“This is a political conspiracy by the BJP that exercises control on universities and by the Congress which is struggling to make itself relevant after being routed in the Delhi assembly elections,” he said.
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On Tuesday, Kejriwal had asked Tomar to clarify his position on the issue after Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University told the court that the provisional certificate produced by Tomar had been “fabricated” and did not exist in the varsity’s records.
In his letter, Tomar put the blame on BJP candidate from Tri Nagar, Nand Kishore Garg.
Alleging that Garg made attempts to malign his name during the Assembly polls, Tomar wrote, “When nothing else seemed to work, he filed an election petition… raising questions with regard to the authenticity of my graduation and law degrees.”
Tomar further alleged that Garg was being supported by senior leaders of the BJP.
“Garg runs a couple of universities in Delhi as well as Himachal Pradesh and, due to his contacts with other universities, he has been able to obtain certain documents by citing incorrect particulars. These incorrect documents have been cited as evidence in the election petition,” Tomar’s said.
On reports about the university maintaining that his graduation degree, under Roll No. 31331 was fake, Tomar said, “It may be interesting to note that this reply — based on an almost 30-year-old record — has been furnished by the university within a day of an application being filed.”
“I am certain that the truth will prevail and once all the documents are before the court, the petition will be dismissed. I then intend to take action against Garg by filing a defamation suit,” Tomar said.
Responding to allegations that the Bar Council of India had issued him a show-cause notice regarding his suspension, Tomar wrote, “It is clarified here that I had filed an application dated 16.02.2015 with the Bar Council of India for suspension of my licence from practicing as an advocate upon my nomination as Law Minister. The Bar Council of India has… informed me that my license to practice has been suspended.”
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