Vinod Tawde's alma mater operates from 1BHK flat

The controversial Sant Dnyaneshwar Vidyapeeth, Pune, alma mater of Maharashtra's education minister Vinod Tawde, currently operates from a one-BHK flat in Pune. The office address given on the website is flat No: 4/5, Dvijay Apt, 997/7, Navi Peth, Satsang Society, Pune-30. At present, the University offers some "tech-quick" diploma courses with the facility of "studying at home" for working professionals and a few short-term courses on CAD and English speaking.

Tawde faces the allegation of having a fake BE (electronics) degree from this college and mentioning it in his election affidavit. A court order in 2005 stated that the university is bogus, because it lacked approval from UGC and AICTE as per rules. The court has also banned the BE courses offered by the university, calling even the old degrees bogus.

Tawde, though, claims he did not say he was a qualified engineer. In his passport, he said, he has mentioned only his HSC qualification. Tawde was unreachable for comments.

At attempt to contact the Vice Chancellor-cum-President of the university, Arun Kudale, was futile.

An employee of the college claimed that the institute has bought a piece of land in Alandi now. But it has yet to develop the land.

Meanwhile, the Congress party has strengthened its attack on the minister. Several senior leaders including Sanjay Nirupam and Varsha Gaikwad protested in front of Mumbai Congress office near Azad Maidan. The Congress demanded that Tawde must be removed from the cabinet with immediate effect and must be sent to jail like Jitendra Tomar, erstwhile law minister of Delhi.

A college professor said Tawde had committed improprieties. "He was well aware that the course was illegal. There was also a court judgment to this effect in 2005, which banned the course and said that certificates given in previous years were fake. Despite that, Tawde went ahead and mentioned it in his election affidavit in 2014, which was uncalled for. That should have been avoided."