DUSU president’s BA degree fake, says NSUI

Hindustan Times: New Delhi: Wednesday, September 19, 2018.

The National Students Union of India (NSUI) on Tuesday alleged that the newly elected Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) president Ankiv Baisoya of the RSS-backed Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) submitted fake documents to get admission in the University.

The ABVP has denied the allegations.

The NSUI, Congress’ student wing, initially claimed it had sought the information from the Tamil Nadu-based Thiruvalluvar University, from where Baisoya graduated in 2006, under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

But when the ABVP pointed out the absence of any “reference number” and “date of issue” on the letter, the NSUI said they had written to the university to verify Baisoya’s academic record and did not file an RTI application.

The NSUI said Thiruvalluvar University responded in a letter, saying: “The copy of the certificate of the following candidate has been verified and found that it is not genuine. It is a fake certificate.”

However, K Murugan, vice-chancellor of Thiruvalluvar University, Vellore, said: “I will have a discussion with the registrar and controller of examination over the originality of that certificate. After that I will reveal the exact nature of that degree certificate.”

Baisoya, who is currently pursuing a masters degree from Delhi University’s Department of Buddhism Studies, did Bachelors in Arts (BA) from Thiruvalluvar University.

There was no official reaction from Delhi University on NSUI’s allegations. Vice-chancellor Yogesh Tyagi and registrar Tarun Das did not respond to phone calls and text messages.

The ABVP, however, termed the allegation as NSUI “propaganda”. “The DU gave admission to Ankiv Baisoya after due verification of its documents. It’s the process of the university. Even today, the university has all the right to verify documents of any student enrolled in university. But it is not the job of the NSUI to provide certificates to any person.” ABVP national media convener Monika Chaudhary said.

The ABVP questioned the authenticity of the letter saying, “There is no date of issue or reference number written on the letter the NSUI has circulated. It is nothing but propaganda by NSUI,” Chaudhary said.

Despite several attempts, Baisoya did not respond.

The ABVP bagged three out of four DU student union posts, including president, vice-president and joint secretary, this year. NSUI settled for a post of secretary.