The students’ wing of the Congress, the NSUI, has staged a protest outside Shastri Bhavan demanding the immediate resignation of HRD Minister Smriti Irani after a Delhi court took cognisance of a complaint filed against her for allegedly giving false information about her educational qualifications.
We want the immediate resignation of Smriti Irani. The education minister of the country having a question mark on her educational degree is a huge disgrace. We want the government to remove Irani the way Delhi government removed its former minister Jitender Tomar.
– Amit Malik, President, Delhi Youth Congress
NSUI members held up banners demanding Irani’s resignation and climbed on top of police barriers, raising slogans against the BJP government and Irani. Outside the building where her office is located, the protestors burnt her effigy.
We consider this as a dark day in the history of this country that the education minister herself is being probed for her fake educational qualifications.
– Amrish Ranjan Pandey, National Spokesperson, NSUI
Holding that it is unfortunate that the court has given this order at a crucial time when lakhs of students across the country are looking forward to their admissions for higher studies, he said that an independent and impartial inquiry against the Union Minister should be held keeping in mind the future of all these students.
Earlier in the day, a Delhi court took cognisance of the complaint and fixed the matter for recording of pre-summoning evidence on August 28.
The complaint was filed by freelance writer Ahmer Khan, who alleged that Irani, in her three affidavits before the Election Commission (EC), while filing nominations for her candidature for Lok Sabha as well as Rajya Sabha polls, had purportedly given different details about her educational qualifications.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)