Opposition Cong demands CBI probe into issue of certificates

Leader of the opposition and former Chief Minister V Vaithilingam today demanded a CBI probe or a jucidial enquiry into alleged instances of 'fake certificates' available to students for getting admissions to professional courses under government quota in Puducherry.
Talking to reporters here, Vaithilingam said government had earlier stipulated that the candidates should have been a resident in Puducherry for at least five years by doing schooling in the Union Territory and that their parents should also have separate family ration cards after being residents here for at least five years.
But the present AINRC government changed these conditions and modified the guidelines which led to the inclusion of the name of the parent(s) in the family ration card of anyone in Puducherry which was taken conclusive proof to confer nativity on the students, he alleged.

"Revenue authorities issuing the certificate of nativity to students would not have seen the candidates and based on the ration card containing the name of the parent(s) alone the certificates are issued to students", he said, alleging that this modification in the guidelines is the root cause of the whole malpractices and wrong claims of nativity.
Asked if suspension of six revenue officials in the wake of the exposure of "fake certificates" was wrong, the Congress leader said he would not like to go into the role of the officials, adding that only a CBI probe or a judicial enquiry would everything to light.

Alleging that farmers attached to a private sugar mill were yet to be paid the state incentive of Rs 250 per ton, he demanded that the government settle the dues to farmers who had supplied sugarcane during the last crushing season to the cooperative sugar mill here.
Vaithilingam alleged that the Prime Minister's call for "Clean Bharath" was not taken up in Puducherry and mounds of garbage could be seen everywhere. This was because workers removing garbage had not been paid their wages for the last eleven months, he said.