Maha min’s daughter says no to scholarship

RAJKUMAR BADOLE’S DAUGHTER SHRUTI TOOK THE DECISION UNDER PRESSURE AFTER ALLEGATIONS OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST

MUMBAI: Under pressure after allegations of conflict of interest, BJP minister Rajkumar Badole’s daughter, Shruti, decided to give up her state government scholarship to study abroad.

But her inclusion, along with that of the son of the secretary of social justice and special assistance department has raised questions over the structure of the scheme and the selection process.

The department, which is under Badole, allots the scholarship, instituted in 2003, to a maximum of 50 students a year from Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Dalit backgrounds for postgraduate and PhD degrees in any of the top 300 universities in the world, according to the internationally accepted QC World University rankings.

For 2017-18, the state government received 178 applications for the scholarship, of which 35 were chosen.

Those chosen included Shruti, who plans to pursue a PhD in astronomy and astrophysics from the University of Manchester, UK.

Besides her, the list included social justice secretary Dinesh Waghmare’s son, Antariksh, and joint director, technical education, Dayanand Meshram’s son, Sameer.

Significantly, the selection was at the discretion of the government.

Following the allegations, Shruti sent a letter to the state government saying she wants to give up her scholarship although she won it on merit. Antariksh and Sameer, however, intend to go ahead with it.