HC issues notices to EC, govt ,Chaudhary following a plea by Congress leader

Ahmedabad

The Gujarat High Court today issued notices to the Election Commission and the state government on a petition filed by Congress leader Farsubhai Goklani before it claiming that the MBA degree of minister for state for Health Shankarbhai Chaudhary was fake.

The division bench of acting chief justice Jayant Patel and justice N V Anjaria also issued a notice to the minister of state who is also having charge of Family welfare, Road and Transport and Urban Housing departments.

Admitting the petition filed by a local Congress leader from Mr. Chaudhary’s home constituency Radhanpur in North Gujarat, Farsu Goklani, the court also observed that the Election Commission should not remain silent in such serious matters.

The petitioner had filed a complaint to the commission through its state office in Gandhinagar on July 17 this year and in its reply to it the commission on July 24 had suggested Mr. Goklani to file an FIR at his own. The court took a strong view on it.

The court fixed October 29 as the next date of hearing.

Goklani in his complaint has claimed that the MBA degree of the minister was fake.

‘The 2012 affidavit of Chaudhuri given along with his nomination papers as BJP candidate from Radhanpur seat claimed that he has taken an MBA degree from National Institute of Management (NIM), Mumbai. But it can’t be a genuine one as Chaudhary passed his 10+2 in 2011. My contention is that how can any one get a genuine MBA degree within a year of passing the intermediate examination. His claim was also disputed earlier in Vadodara,’ Goklani who is opposition leader said.

Leader of opposition in district panchayat, Goklani is serial petitioner. He had filed three petitions against political rival Shankarbhai Chaudhary in past. He earlier filed plea against Shankarbhai alleging wrong methodology of grant allocation from MLA fund in year 2007. He filed another plea against Chaudhary in 2007 for misuse of PM relief fund money. In same year he filed another plea seeking police protection against Shankarbhai Chaudhary. In the Public Interest Litigation filed in 2012, Farsubhai alleged scam in Charanka solar plant land deal and made allegations against senior IAS officer DJ Pandian(now retired). The court however gave clean chit to Pandian.

When media persons asked Shankarbhai Chaudhary to react to the petition he said, “This petition is Congress motivated. Petitioner and others are Congress motivated. As the matter is pending in court, I don’t want to say anything regarding the case but I want to say that while Navratri festival is going on, the truth shall be victorious.”

– DeshGujarat