Mumbai: After media reported about the controversy over the scholarship awarded to Maharashtra’s Social Justice Minister’s daughter, the beneficiary Shruti Rajkumar Badole has decided to give up the scholarship.
Maharashtra government on Wednesday had released a list of scholarships for students to study abroad. Among the beneficiaries was Social Justice Minister Rajkumar Badole’s daughter Shruti. Badole holds the department of social justice that worked for the betterment of the downtrodden and the backward.
In a statement issued in Mumbai, Shruti has stressed that her entire education has been on the basis of merit and that her father who wasn’t even a minister then, had no role to play in her academic achievements.
Scholarship Purely On Merit : Shruti
“I completed my education from IIT, Madras. My father wasn’t a minister then. I completed my MSc from University of Sussex. I got admission and scholarship there purely on the basis of merit. My dream is to work in the field of Astro-Physics and I have climbed every step towards that only on the basis of merit. My father wasn’t even a minister then,” Shruti informed in the release.
“I was selected again on merit in the top 26 Universities for studies in astrophysics. I had told my father that we won’t take loan for my studies as we are still repaying the loan taken for my brother’s studies. That is why I applied for state government scholarship,” she added.
Badole’s Daughter Saw Controversy Coming
Shruti further said that she had apprehended that there could be a controversy since she was a minister’s daughter and that is why her father decided to withdraw himself from the procedure.
“There were 3 scholarships to be awarded in the field of doctoral studies in Science, for which only 2 applications were received. How could I then have snatched someone else’s right?” she questioned.
“If you get admission in any of the top 100 Universities, then there is no income criterion to apply. Now if I fit the criterion, is it my fault? All my education has been completely on the basis of merit. So if I am a minister’s daughter, does that make me less meritorious? ” Shruti added.
Shruti announced, “If my scholarship is getting embroiled in a controversy only because my father is a minister, I denounce it!”.
Students Eligible For Scholarships
On Wednesday, the state government had released a list of 35 eligible students for scholarships to study in universities abroad. Among the “deserving” beneficiaries was Shruti Badola.
The minister’s daughter had bagged a three-year scholarship for a PhD in astronomy and astrophysics at the University of Manchester.
The Social Justice Department awards financial assistance to 50 students from the scheduled castes and neo-buddhist communities to pursue higher education, post-graduate and doctoral courses in foreign universities. eduled castes and neo-buddhist com.
To avail the scholarship, the family income of the applicant should be less than Rs 6,00,000 per annum but for the ones eligible for the top 100 universities, the income criterion has been removed.
