Former minister Abdul Sattar, who is member of the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde camp, is in deep trouble after the names of three daughters and a son appeared in the list of the 7,880 candidates who were disqualified and banned in connection with the alleged rigging of the Teachers' Eligibility Test (TET) 2019-20. Sattar, who was minister of state for revenue left Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and defected to the Eknath Shinde camp, is an aspirant for the ministerial berth in the cabinet expansion slated for Tuesday. However, the uncertainty looms large over his induction as the opposition NCP, Congress and Thackeray faction have demanded a probe in this regard.
Sattar denied charges saying that he will seek an inquiry into how the names of his two daughters cropped up in the list though they had "failed" to clear it. He claimed his son never appeared for the exam but was evasive about his third daughter. ‘’A conspiracy has been hatched against me and my family,’’ he alleged. He declared that he will initiate legal action for inclusion of names of his daughters in the list of disqualified candidates.
Sattar said his two daughters had appeared for the MAHA TET-2019 exam which was conducted on January 19, 2020.
"My two daughters Heena Kausar Abdul Sattar Shaikh and Uzma Nahid Abdul Sattar Shaikh appeared for the TET exam held in January 2020. My son is pursuing an LLB. He didn't appear for the test. My two daughters did not clear the exam and thus were ineligible. We have certificates to show that they were ineligible. I will seek an inquiry into how their names appeared in the list," Sattar said.
Sattar demanded an inquiry by the Enforcement Directorate saying that the culprits should be found out and punished.
The Maharashtra State Council of Examinations last Wednesday said it had disqualified 7,880 candidates for their involvement in the manipulation and tampering of marks in the TET 2019.
While 7,500 of the 7,880 candidates allegedly tampered with the results in the exchange for money to show themselves "eligible" in the results of the final exam, 293 candidates secured forged/fake certificates projecting themselves as eligible candidates after the final results.
