Bhopal: The nomination of a Madhya Pradesh minister is in trouble after independent candidates approached the Election Commission, complaining that the former’s affidavits reveal he completed his Masters in Commerce in one year.
Following the objection, Surendra Patwa’s nomination has been put on hold and the Returning Officer is expected to pronounce his verdict on the issue on Tuesday.
Independents Mansingh Raghuwanshi and Ravindra Sahu, in their complaint to the Returning Officer, said that Patwa has claimed in his affidavit that he completed his master's degree in 1984, while the papers filed in 2013 say that he acquired the bachelor's degree in 1983. Thus, portraying that the minister completed M Com in a year.
Sahu further said that in one section of the affidavit, the minister has claimed that he has taken a loan of Rs 34 crore and his wife of Rs 2.5 crore. However, in another section, it is mentioned that he has dues of Rs 14 crore to repay, while his wife has none.
Acting on the complaint, the Returning Officer has reportedly sought a reply from Patwa.
Patwa, who is contesting from Bhojpur seat, is a minister in Shivraj government and former Chief Minister Sunderlal Patwa's nephew. He is fighting the elections against veteran politician Suresh Pachauri in Raisen district. He had defeated Pachauri in 2013 assembly polls form the same seat.
Out of the total 4,157 nominations filed at 230 constituencies, the EC by Monday rejected 415 of them over various anomalies. Maximum 27 nomination papers have been rejected in Chhindwara.
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