Like Modi, Like Kejriwal: ‘Fake’-degree Ministers are Still Immune

Several ministers have been known to fudge their education records. Yet, their govts have failed to question them.

Each year, universities across the country grapple with students seeking admission on the basis of fake degrees.

The University of Delhi says it has a mechanism in place to detect whether or not a certificate is genuine. The mechanism, it claims, is foolproof.

If such checks can indeed be carried out successfully, what’s preventing people at the highest echelons of power – the ruling factions of the government – from detecting fake degrees?

HRD Ministers with ‘Sparkling Records’

Union Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani became a national joke when she claimed that she had a degree from Yale. Of course, Irani was quick to clarify that her statements had been misconstrued.

Irani’s tryst with Yale, however, wasn’t her first unfortunate educational ‘mishap’. This came close on the heels of an irregularity in her “educational qualifications” being unearthed.

In 2004, Irani had stated that she had a degree in BA Arts (1996) from DU’s School of Open Learning. However, in 2014, she declared in her affidavit that she had completed a part of a degree in Commerce from the varsity. Not only did this raise serious doubts over the veracity of Irani’s claims, but people also questioned whether or not she was equipped to handle a portfolio that required an in-depth understanding of the country’s education system.

Ironically enough, minister of state for HRD Ram Shankar Katheria also found himself in the thick of a controversy after it was alleged that his graduation marksheet was forged. Katheria, of course, denied the allegations, calling it “political conspiracy”.

Two ministers from the same department have been mired in near-identical controversies. Yet, not only was no inquiry initiated against them, but all voices of protest gradually fell silent.

Jitender Tomar’s ‘Law-datory’ Efforts

Long before Arvind Kejriwal became Delhi’s Chief Minister, he had vowed to restore safety in a city plagued with issues of crime – especially those against women.

And the man Kejriwal appointed to execute this task – Jitender Tomar –seemed like a fitting candidate for the post of law minister – with an LLB degree to boot.

But, lo and behold! Credentials vanished almost as soon as they’d appeared. Tomar was found to have been operating on a bogus degree and now, not only has the Bar Council of Delhi suspended his license to practice in a court of law, but he has also come under fire from other parties.

In the midst of this chaos, Kejriwal’s response seems almost in line with every other ‘higher power’ before him. All the Delhi CM has done is to urge Tomar to “explain himself”. Tomar, in the meantime, remains largely unrepentant. While he continues to declare that “conspiracies were being hatched to defame him”, the Kejriwal cabinet is maintaining a stoic silence on the matter.

The question remains – when something as basic as educational qualifications are being fudged by ministers, why are governments so hesitant to take them to task?

The Modi government has already displayed its penchant for silence in such matters. The AAP government, with all its noise and hoopla about standing apart from the former, has also, sadly, fallen prey to the same.