Minister’s daughter gives up scholarship

A day after a controversy broke out over scholarship awarded to her, Maharashtra Social Justice Minister Rajkumar Badole’s daughter Shruti has decided to give up the scholarship.

In a statement, Shruti stressed that her entire education had been on the basis of merit and she had achieved it even when her father was not a minister. “I completed my education from IIT, Madras. My father wasn’t a minister then. I completed my MSc from University of Sussex. I got admission and scholarship there purely on the basis of merit. My dream is to work in the field of AstroPhysics and I have climbed every step towards that only on the basis of merit,” said Shruti.

“I was selected again on merit in the top 26 Universities for studies in astrophysics. I had told my father that we won’t take loan for my studies as we are still repaying the loan taken for my brother’s studies. That is why I applied for state government scholarship,” the statement added.

Adding that she had known that there could be a controversy since she was a minister’s daughter, Shruti, in her statement, said that’s why her father had decided to withdraw himself from the procedure.

“There were three scholarships to be awarded in the field of doctoral studies in Science, for which only two applications were received. How could I then have snatched someone else’s right?” she questioned.

“If you get admission in any of the top 100 Universities, then there is no income criterion to apply. Now if I fit the criterion, is it my fault? All my education has been completely on the basis of merit. So if I am a minister’s daughter, does that make me less meritorious?” Shruti asked.

“If my scholarship is getting embroiled in a controversy only because my father is a minister, I denounce it.” she said.

The Social Justice Department awards financial assistance to 50 students from the scheduled castes and neo-buddhist communities to pursue higher education, post-graduate and doctoral courses in foreign universities.