Admission fraud: Marwah resigns from CM’s aide post

MLA Tarvinder Singh Marwah on Tuesday resigned from the post of parliamentary secretary to chief minister Sheila Dikshit, following allegations of using fake marksheet to secure a seat for his daughter in Delhi University’s Mata Sundri College for Women.

MLA Tarvinder Singh Marwah on Tuesday resigned from the post of parliamentary secretary to chief minister Sheila Dikshit, following allegations of using fake marksheet to secure a seat for his daughter in Delhi University’s Mata Sundri College for Women.

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The Delhi Police have also registered a case of cheating and forgery against the three-time Congress MLA from Jangpura assembly seat.

While Marwah could not be contacted despite repeated attempts, Dikshit said she spoke to him after learning about the matter and he had himself offered to resign. “I called him and asked him about it. He said it was about the family. He, then, offered to resign and I accepted,” Dikshit said.

The prompt action by the chief minister has come in the wake of the upcoming municipal elections in Delhi. Sources close to the chief minister said the party did not want to give the opposition a chance to make it an election issue.

“There was clear instruction from the party too, to get rid of the baggage. After poor performance in the recently concluded Assembly elections in some states, the party does not want to take any risk," said a senior Delhi Congress leader, requesting not to be named.

Delhi unit president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Vijender Gupta had accused Marwah of getting his daughter admitted to Mata Sundri College of Women using fake Class 12 marksheet in a press conference on Monday. He had alleged that Marwah's daughter had taken admission to a BA course in July 2011 by submitting "forged" higher secondary examination marksheet of Madhya Pradesh State Open School, Bhopal.

Gupta who had also produced some documents, including the police complaint filed by the college authorities, had demanded immediate arrest of Marwah.

"Marwah's daughter had not even taken the higher secondary exams. We have got a confirmation regarding this from the Madhya Pradesh State Open School," Gupta had said.

The Delhi Police registered a case of cheating and forgery against Marwah after a delegation of BJP leaders met police commissioner BK Gupta on Tuesday.