The opposition BJP and the Congress on Tuesday upped the ante against Law Minister Jitender Singh Tomar, a day after Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University in Bihar told the Delhi High Court that the provisional certificate of his “LLB studies” was “fabricated and does not exist in the institution’s record”. Tomar denied the allegations and said he would prove his innocence in the court. Even as sources in the AAP said an explanation had been sought from Tomar, Leader of the Opposition Vijender Gupta demanded that the Anti Corruption Branch (ACB) should investigate the case. “The government has the ACB, let it investigate. Let the CM take cognizance and remove the minister, or the minister step down on moral grounds till proven innocent. We will take to the streets if he continues. I will raise the issue in the upcoming Assembly session,” he said. [related-post] The Congress too was quick to condemn Tomar. Delhi Congress president Ajay Maken said the party would carry out demonstrations outside the Players’ Building at ITO on Thursday. “The moment this fact came to the knowledge of Arvind Kerjiwal, he should have taken action against Tomar. Being the CM, he doesn’t lack resources to do so. Obviously, this can be taken as bankruptcy on his part, someone who preaches about ethics and morality,” Maken said. However, Tomar iterated that his degrees were original and that he would soon prove that it was a malicious attempt by the BJP to discredit him. Asked if he was there when the affidavits were submitted, Tomar said, “I was not there when Bhagalpur affidavit was submitted. I did not get to know whether such an information was submitted or not. I will file a counter to the petition. My degrees are original.” According to the law minister, the roll number for which the information was sought was not his. “If you give someone else’s roll number, the university will tell you that the facts are wrong,” he said. “They might have tampered with the facts and the court will get it corrected. Universities have registers for everything,” he said. Meanwhile, the Bar Council of Delhi too stepped into the matter. Amit Sharma, BCD vice-chairman, said, “Tomar has sought more time to present his stand before the Bar council. We will hear the matter on May 8. A decision will be taken after the hearing.”
