Hailakandi BJP leader in dock over fake SC certificate; panel urges action

Hailakandi, Nov 2: The Scheduled Caste (SC) certificate of BJP State Committee vice president Moon Swarnakar has been found to be fake, and the State Level Scrutiny Committee has recommended its cancellation. The revelation has caused a major stir among party workers.

Swarnakar, who also served as the State president of the BJP SC Morcha, is currently one of the vice presidents of the State Committee from the SC category.

Attempts to reach Swarnakar and Hailakandi District BJP president Kalyan Goswami for their reactions were unsuccessful, as their phones remained unreachable. Swarnakar is presently residing in the Nutanpara area of Hailakandi town.

The controversy dates back three years, when several organisations, including the Hailakandi District SC-ST Unemployed Association, lodged complaints with the State government questioning the authenticity of Swarnakar’s SC certificate.

The Asom Anusuchito Jati Sangrami Yuva Parishad, Assam also submitted a similar complaint. Following verification, the Scrutiny Committee of the Assam government’s Department of Social Justice and Empowerment recently recommended the cancellation of her certificate.

Interestingly, Swarnakar had earlier been a member of the Karimganj OBC Development Board and also holds an OBC certificate.

Expressing serious concern over the issue, former president of the Hailakandi District SC-ST Unemployed Association, Sankarjit Das, demanded strict action against all individuals who have availed benefits using fake SC certificates.

It may be mentioned that Moon Swarnakar contested Assembly elections from the Ratabari (SC) and Algapur constituencies on BJP tickets but was defeated in both.

The Election Commission of India had permitted her to contest from the SC-reserved Ratabari constituency despite protests and complaints regarding her caste certificate.

By Correspondent