<p>Maharashtra’s high-profile Education Minister Vinod Tawde is in for trouble following revelations in regional channel, Mi Marathi, which claimed that the engineering degree that he has is from an unrecognised university. <br /><br /></p>.<p>A senior BJP leader, Tawde is Minister for School Education and Sports, Higher and Technical Education, Medical Education, Marathi Language and Cultural Affairs.<br /><br />The development comes in wake of a fake degree issue involving Delhi's former law minister Jitender Singh Tomar. <br /><br />Tawde, according to an affidavit filed with the Election Commission, holds a BE (Electronics) degree from Pune-based Sant Dnyaneshwar University, which is not affiliated with UGC or AICTE or Maharashtra's Directorate of Technical Education. <br /><br />HC order<br /><br />The Bombay High Court had in a 2005 order, said that Dnyaneshwar Vidyapeeth does not have any rights to award degrees, and that the degrees issued even before 2005 were invalid. <br /><br />Speaking to reporters, Tawde said he takes pride in having studied from Dnyaneshwar University. “I have mentioned it in all my election affidavits and I did not cheat anyone. I did not take any benefits that are due to graduates in passport, nor did I register myself as a voter in graduates’ constituency,” Tawde said.<br /><br />Meanwhile, Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam demanded his resignation. “The university from which he obtained degree is fake, the degree that he has is fake...he must immediately resign,” he said. </p>
<p>Maharashtra’s high-profile Education Minister Vinod Tawde is in for trouble following revelations in regional channel, Mi Marathi, which claimed that the engineering degree that he has is from an unrecognised university. <br /><br /></p>.<p>A senior BJP leader, Tawde is Minister for School Education and Sports, Higher and Technical Education, Medical Education, Marathi Language and Cultural Affairs.<br /><br />The development comes in wake of a fake degree issue involving Delhi's former law minister Jitender Singh Tomar. <br /><br />Tawde, according to an affidavit filed with the Election Commission, holds a BE (Electronics) degree from Pune-based Sant Dnyaneshwar University, which is not affiliated with UGC or AICTE or Maharashtra's Directorate of Technical Education. <br /><br />HC order<br /><br />The Bombay High Court had in a 2005 order, said that Dnyaneshwar Vidyapeeth does not have any rights to award degrees, and that the degrees issued even before 2005 were invalid. <br /><br />Speaking to reporters, Tawde said he takes pride in having studied from Dnyaneshwar University. “I have mentioned it in all my election affidavits and I did not cheat anyone. I did not take any benefits that are due to graduates in passport, nor did I register myself as a voter in graduates’ constituency,” Tawde said.<br /><br />Meanwhile, Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam demanded his resignation. “The university from which he obtained degree is fake, the degree that he has is fake...he must immediately resign,” he said. </p>
