Mamata Banerjee's Partymen Flaunt Dubious Degrees They're Not Even Eligible for
Soudhriti Bhabani
[Published in www.IndiaToday.in on 28th May, 2012]
Mukul Roy's Rajya Sabha profile mentions he did his B.Sc. (Part-I) from Calcutta University.
Members of the Trinamool Congress, led by party chief Mamata Banerjee, seem to be making a habit of flaunting dubious educational achievements.
Barely half a decade after it was revealed that the American university Banerjee claimed to have done her Ph.D. from never even existed, two of her loyal partymen have come under the scanner for similar discrepancies in their declared educational qualification.
There are glaring incongruities in the profiles of Railways Minister Mukul Roy and Trinamool leader Kunal Ghosh, both Rajya Sabha members, in their Election Commission affidavits and on the Rajya Sabha website.
Mukul Roy's Rajya Sabha profile.
While Ghosh's highest academic qualification mentioned in his E.C. affidavit is just "Madhyamik" (state secondary board exam, 1985), his Rajya Sabha profile states he pursued a certificate course (no specific year mentioned) in audio visual journalism, media management from Annex College of Management and Annex-Cygnus Institute of Management, Kolkata. Incidentally, he is a board member of the institute.
What is all the more befuddling is the fact that authorities at Annex College refuse such a course was ever even a part of their curriculum! Their claim verified by the absence of any mention of a certificate course in audio visual journalism on the institute's website.
"There has never been such a course at the institute in its 21 years. We still don't have any educational programme under this title," Monali Chakraborty of Annex College of Management said.
If this sounds weird, then check out the state-run websites - http://ceowestbengal.nic.in and http://rajyasabha.nic.in.
'No foul play'
When contacted, Ghosh pleaded ignorance about the discrepancy.
"I don't know how the mistake occurred. The mention was omitted in the E.C. affidavit, I guess. I will definitely look into it," the journalist-turned-politico said.
He, however, remained defiant insisting that the two separate educational qualifications were in no way contradictory. "I wanted to highlight the professional side of my career and accordingly gave the details to the Rajya Sabha site and they uploaded it," Ghosh added.
Mukul Roy's profiles on the two portals hold a similar 'error'.
His Rajya Sabha profile mentions he did his higher secondary schooling from Harneet High School at Kanchrapara in North 24 Parganas, after which he enrolled at Calcutta University, where he only completed Part-I (first and second year) of his B.Sc. course.
Kunal Ghosh's Election Commission affidavit.
But in his E.C. affidavit, the railways minister says he also has an MA in public administration from Madurai-Kamraj University in 2006. Now the question is, if Roy actually did obtain his masters degree in 2006, then why did he not make the necessary changes in his profile, despite having been re-elected to the Rajya Sabha the same year?
Or when he earned another tenure in the House this year? Roy could not be reached for his comments on Sunday. His personal assistant said the minister was busy in a political rally.
Funnily, their party chief Banerjee faced similar embarrassment when it was revealed during her maiden campaign for a seat in the Lok Sabha in 2006, that East Georgia University, the U.S. school she claimed to have done her Ph.D. from, never even existed.
