Cong, AAP demand resignation of Irani

Opposition parties today demanded the immediate sacking of HRD Minister Smriti Irani in the wake of a Delhi court taking cognizance of a complaint accusing her of falsifying her educational qualifications in election affidavits.
"Irani should be immediately sacked as HRD Minister in order to conduct a free and fair investigation in the matter," senior Congress spokesman Ajay Maken, who was the first to raise the issue soon after the swearing-in of Irani, demanded.
Stepping up the offensive, Congress's chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said, "It is apparent that the country's education minister is lying about her own education. What will happen to the future of millions of children in the country. Irani has no moral, constitutional or legal right to continue in her post for even a day," he said.

Maken claimed that Irani had in 2004 submitted an election affidavit stating she had received a bachelor's degree in Arts in 1996 from Delhi University. But, in 2011, when she filed a Rajya Sabha nomination from Gujarat, she stated that she holds a B.Com degree of 1994 from DU, he added.
In 2014, in her nomination papers for the Amethi Lok Sabha seat, she had said she is a B.Com graduate of DU's School of Open Learning, he said.
Maken wanted immediate filing of FIR against Irani by Delhi Police.

Drawing parallels with the case of former Delhi law minister Jitender Singh Tomar, Aam Aadmi Party too demanded the removal of the HRD minister and said there cannot be two "yardsticks" in such matters.

But ruling BJP tried to downplay the issue and insisted that it was a different case from the one involving Tomar, who is facing allegations of giving details of fake degrees in his poll affidavit.
A Delhi court today took cognisance of a complaint filed against Irani for allegedly giving false information about her educational qualifications and fixed the next hearing for August 28.
It was a double whammy for BJP as Maken also demanded removal of BJP leader and Maharashtra Women and Child Development Minister Pankaja Munde.
He alleged that the minister was involved in a Rs 206 crore scam related to purchase of nutritional food given to children under Integrated Child Development Services.

When told that Congress chief Sonia Gandhi was also involved in a controversy over her educational qualifications, Maken said that what had happened in the matter was due to a "typing error" and the Supreme Court had not allowed the plea of Subramanian Swamy in the case way back in 2005.