Indian
Express: Nagaland: Sunday, 29 November 2015.
After HRD
Minister Smriti Irani and AAP leader Jitender Singh Tomar, it’s Nagaland Chief
Minister T R Zeliang’s turn to face the heat over “fake” degrees.
The Naga
People’s Front leader says he is a graduate. But the Congress disputes the
claim pointing to information received
through an RTI application, which says Zeliang failed his BA exam. In an order,
the Kohima first-class Judicial Magistrate has summoned the registrar of North
Eastern Hill University and principal/registrar of Kohima College, where
Zeliang studied, to furnish records related to his qualification.
The court
came into the picture after one Maziezokho Nisa filed a complaint under Section
125 A of the Representation of People Act, 1951, in September, alleging that
Zeliang made a false claim about his education in the affidavit for the 2013
polls. Citing an RTI reply, one Kiesamyi Irangaung said the Chief Minister had
failed his BA exam in 1979 and there were no records of him appearing for the
exam the next year. Zeliang, he said, claimed to be a graduate from Arts
College, Kohima, in 1979, in his biography in the “Who is Who” of 2013
published by the government. But while serving as Parliamentary Affairs
Minister during 2008-2013, he gave his qualification as BA from Kohima College
in 1980.
The Congress
petitioned Governor P B Acharya to set up a committee to probe the matter. When
contacted, Zeliang said, “I wouldn’t like to comment at this juncture as the
matter is sub judice.”
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