My Degree is Not Bogus, Says Maharashtra Education Minister Vinod Tawde

Mumbai: Maharashtra's Education Minister Vinod Tawde finds himself in the eye of a storm after the Opposition has alleged that he holds a fake engineering degree. Mr Tawde, rubbishing the charges, on Monday said he has nothing to hide.

"One channel has run a story that Education Minister Vinod Tawde's degree is fake. This is a bridged course and everyone was aware of it. This course ensured I got a job soon. The college did not need sanction as its syllabus was different. After AICTE was formed running the college was illegal so it was shut. So there is nothing to hide and I am proud to be a student of Dyaneshwar University," Mr Tawde told reporters.

Mr Tawde holds a BE Electronics degree, which he claims to have obtained from Dnyaneshwar University in Pune in 1984. The Opposition parties have demanded Mr Tawde's resignation pointing to his alleged 'fake degree'. The Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, has also demanded Mr Tawde's resignation.

Earlier this month, former Delhi Law Minister Jitender Singh Tomar was arrested for allegedly faking his science and law degrees. A First Information Report or FIR was registered against him on June 8 and he was booked for alleged offences of cheating and forgery. On Monday, his bail plea was rejected by a court in Delhi and his judicial custody was extended by two weeks.