A large number of Bharatiya Janata Party workers, led by the party’s State president Satish Upadhyay, staged a demonstration outside the residence of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal here on Wednesday, demanding immediate dismissal of Law Minister Jitender Singh Tomar who is facing charges of having a fabricated law degree.
Holding placards and banners, the Opposition BJP workers raised slogans against the Aam Aadmi Party government and Mr. Tomar. They also burnt an effigy of Mr. Tomar amid slogans such as “Farzi Degree Ka Nahin Chalega Khel, Tomar Ko Bhejo Jail”, loosely translated as “Fake degree will not do, send Tomar to jail”.
The demonstrators gathered at the Trauma Centre on Ring Road and marched towards the Chief Minister’s residence situated a kilometre away while raising slogans. They were stopped by the police at a heavily guarded barricade. Mr. Upadhyay accused Mr. Kejriwal of adopting “double standards” on the issue of corruption and said the BJP would not stop the agitation till Tomar was dismissed. “BJP will not let this government go scot-free, as its Ministers and even MLAs are spreading anarchy,” he said.
Those who took part in the demonstration included BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri, BJP MLA Jagdish Pradhan and BJP leader Nand Kishore Garg, who had contested against Mr. Tomar from Tri Nagar constituency in this year’s Assembly election.
Mr. Garg said he had been highlighting the issue of Mr. Tomar’s fake degree since long and it had now been proved through the Tilak Manjhi Bhagalpur University’s affidavit filed in the Delhi High Court. He said Mr. Tomar’s argument that the matter was sub judice had no basis.
On the sidelines of “Swaraj Samvad”, expelled AAP leader Yogendra Yadav said that he had raised the issue of the alleged fake law degree of Mr. Tomar when he was in the party’s Political Affairs Committee and had listed it among the matters which needed to be investigated by the party.
Mr. Upadhyay accused Mr. Kejriwal of adopting “double standards” on the issue of corruption and said the BJP would not stop the agitation till Tomar was dismissed
