BJP supporters demand dismissal of Tomar

Scores of BJP supporters today held a protest outside Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence here, demanding dismissal of Law Minister Jitender Singh Tomar, who is facing charges of having a fake law degree.

The protestors led by Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay took to the streets holding placards and shouting slogans.

"Delhi Government has fooled the people of Delhi. The way in which a Minister of the Delhi Government is sitting with a fake degree, we have no option but to come out on the roads in this heat. We may also take legal recourse and if needed, also lodge an FIR in this connection.

"We are raising the issue in the people's court and will not stop the agitation till Tomar is dismissed. This kind of anarchy cannot go on," he said.

Upadhyay also accused Kejriwal of adopting "double standards" on the issue of corruption and said, "He talks about government officials being corrupt but are all officials corrupt?

"What about an FIR being filed against his party MLA from Tilak Nagar Jarnail Singh, who assaulted South Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) engineer and prevented him from carrying out his official duty. He should first tackle dishonesty in his own party," Upadhyay said.

Tomar has rejected all charges of any wrongdoing and refused to step down.

He charged that the controversy was a BJP ploy to sully the image of Aam Aadmi Party and contended that since no FIR had been registered against him nor any court had made any observation "there is no question of stepping down".

He also met Kejriwal yesterday and was understood to have given an explanation over the whole issue. Despite demands by the BJP and Congress for Tomar's ouster, Kejriwal is believed to be backing him in this case.

Responding to a petition which alleged that Tomar had enrolled himself as an advocate on the basis of a "false and bogus" degree, the Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University in Bihar had on Monday submitted an affidavit in the Delhi High Court stating that his provisional certificate was "fabricated".