Jitu Vaghani says law will take its course against his son

Gujarat BJP chief Jitu Vaghani on Friday wrote to the vice chancellor of Bhavnagar University, seeking action against his son Meet who was caught cheating in an examination the day before. Vaghani also said that he and his family had decided that his son should not take the exam.

Vaghani was addressing a press conference on Friday to give details on the PM's Town Hall programme and party chief Amit Shah's roadshow, when journalists asked him questions about the cheating case against his son. Vaghani replied that all necessary action should be taken against his son. He said, "My son is not an exception and all the necessary actions, which apply to everyone, should be taken against him. There should not be any difference between my son and the child of any common man just because I am a leader of the ruling party."

"In such cases, there's a process to be followed. An investigation is done by the examination committee of the university and actions are taken against the accused person based on the committee's report. However, my family and I have decided that my son should not appear for the examinations. Which is why he did not appear today," Vaghani added.

Leaders of the BJP have remained tightlipped about the issue. While education minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama and party spokesperson Bharat Pandya could not be reached, other members such as minister of state for education Vibhavari Dave and former leader of ABVP's students' union, Pankaj Shukla, refused to comment.

Gujarat BJP Yuva Morcha president Dr Rutvij Patel said, "I appreciate the stand our president Jitubhai has taken. He and his family have taken a tough decision and that requires courage for a person in the public sphere."

Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi said, "Thousands of students from ordinary families have also appeared for the examination along with Vaghani's son. The state government and university authorities should ensure that no injustice is meted out to them in defense of the BJP chief's son. This case has also exposed that cheating in examinations, bogus degree certificates and irregularities in recruitments for government jobs has flourished in Gujarat."