Minister corners foreign scholarship meant for poor
TO AVAIL of the scholarship, the applicant has to attach copies of the annual income of the parents, which must not exceed Rs six lakh. The salary of a cabinet minister is Rs. 1.80 lakh per month, roughly Rs 21.6 lakh per annum. The annual income of a sec
Rajkumar Badole, minister for social justice, and the secretary in his department allegedly used their clout and official position to secure foreign scholarships for their children.
Badole’s daughter and the secretary in the social justice department Dinesh Waghmare’s son were awarded scholarships to study in England and the United States, respectively, the beneficiaries of which are generally needy children of Scheduled Caste families.
Badole has defended the decision and contended that his daughter had been selected through a proper procedure. Waghmare, meanwhile, refused to comment. That has given the Opposition, especially the Congress, the fodder to criticise the duo for ‘favouring their kin’ and committing an act that was ‘morally wrong.’
The State government has constituted a committee headed by the chief secretary that vets the scholarship applicants and selects the beneficiaries from among Scheduled Caste students. The social justice department bears the entire financial burden of the education, including lodging. The scholarship is for post graduate and doctorate courses in foreign universities.
The committee shortlists 36 students. This year, Shruti, daughter of minister Badole, was short listed for the course of PhD in Astronomy and Astrophysics in the University of Manchester (UK). The other beneficiary was Antariksha, the son of Waghmare. He proposes to pursue post-graduation in Science in Information System at the Pennsylvania state university.
Continued from Page 1 Sachin Sawant, the state general secretary of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee, said that there was no problem if the children of the minister and the secretary went abroad for higher education. “The controversy arises since the minister and the secretary are in a position to pay for the expenses of their children; why have they then availed of this scholarship meant for the really poor?” Sawant questioned.
Sawant further alleged, “He used his clout for availing the benefit and chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has taken no action against the minister.”
Meanwhile, Badole said in his defence, “My daughter is intelligent and she has a right to go abroad for higher education. There is no rule that states a minister’s kin cannot avail of the benefit of this scholarship.”
According to an official from the department, the file was submitted to Fadnavis for his final approval as the minister and the secretary are both members of the CS committee. “The chief minister has also approved these names,” he said.