E-Paper
Hearing on minority status certificates held in Dec-Jan: Dept clarifies
Akshay Jain, general secretary of Maharashtra Youth Congress, alleged that access credentials to the portal were changed after the issue surfaced in the media. “After the leak, the password was changed to prevent further documents from coming out,” he claimed.
PUNE: Amid allegations that the Maharashtra Minority Development Department hurriedly cleared minority status certificates for 75 educational institutions within hours of deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar’s death, the department has clarified that hearings on the applications were conducted in December and January.
The controversy erupted after claims that a large number of certificates were cleared immediately after Pawar’s demise, raising questions about the timing and procedural integrity. A senior department official told Hindustan Times that the hearings had been held before Pawar’s death and were not conducted posthumously.
Hearings on some of the certificates were conducted in December–January. As per instructions, we are now carrying out a detailed enquiry into every certificate issued. The facts will emerge after the probe,” the officer said, adding that an official statement would be issued in the next few days.
Explaining the process, the officer said institutions must first apply online through the Aple Sarkar portal, following which a hearing date is assigned. Representatives of the institutions are required to appear with relevant documents. Once a proposal clears the hearing stage, it moves to technical processing, where the competent authority logs into the system using a digital signature dongle.
The officer said the online file is scrutinised again before remarks are recorded and the proposal is forwarded. A two-step authentication process, including a password and a digital signature, is mandatory before the certificate can be generated and downloaded.
“In this case, hearings had already been completed, but certificates may have been issued on January 29 due to technical issues. All certificates are being examined, and action will be taken if any irregularities are found,” the officer said, declining further comment pending the enquiry.
Akshay Jain, general secretary of Maharashtra Youth Congress, questioned the department’s explanation. “There is no clarity on who is conducting the inquiry and against whom. Blaming ‘technical errors’ appears to be an attempt to shield officials,” he said, demanding a judicial probe into the matter.
Jain also alleged that access credentials to the portal were changed after the issue surfaced in the media. “Only senior officials have access to the portal. After the leak, the password was changed to prevent further documents from coming out,” he claimed, seeking a technical investigation into when and from where the portal was accessed.
The department has not yet responded to these specific allegations.
