In Gujarat, the BJP has sharply criticized the Congress party after it was revealed that Rasesh Gujarathi, a key figure in a fake medical degree racket, had previously headed the Opposition party’s doctors’ cell in Surat. Gujarathi was arrested on Thursday for his involvement in a scam where he sold bogus medical degrees to unqualified individuals.
Gujarathi, along with his associate BM Rawat, allegedly ran a racket under the name of the ‘Board Of Electro Homeopathic Medicine, Ahmedabad,’ selling fake Bachelor of Electro-Homeopathy Medicine and Surgery (BEMS) degrees. They charged Rs 70,000 per degree and had issued certificates to nearly 1,500 people, including many with only a 10th-grade education. Along with the degrees, police seized allopathic and homeopathic medicines, injections, syrups, and fake certificates from the clinics involved in the scam.
Minister of State for Home, Harsh Sanghavi, spoke out against the Congress, accusing the party of enabling anti-social elements by providing them with false doctor credentials. He further claimed that Gujarathi had profited by issuing fake degrees to a number of individuals.
Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi responded, clarifying that Gujarathi had been removed from his position as chairman of the Congress’ Surat city doctors’ cell in 2021. He insisted that the party had no involvement in Gujarathi’s criminal activities. He also emphasized that legal action should be taken if Gujarathi is found guilty.
The controversy grew when a letter, dated 2019, showing Gujarathi’s appointment as chairman of the doctors’ cell, surfaced on social media. Dr Hemang Vasavada, the then-chairman of the state doctors’ cell, stated that Gujarathi was not facing any criminal charges at the time of his appointment. However, BJP spokesperson Yagnesh Dave used the opportunity to attack the Congress, accusing them of remaining silent on the matter.
“Rasesh Gujarathi ran a factory of bogus doctors. Why is Congress not speaking out? Unlike them, the BJP believes in punishing the guilty, regardless of party affiliation,” Dave said.
In response, Doshi asserted that Gujarathi must face the law if proven guilty but reiterated that the Congress had no intention of protecting anyone involved in criminal activities. He also took aim at the BJP, accusing them of protecting corrupt leaders and ignoring state-wide corruption scandals.
“BJP has been protecting scamsters for years, while the Congress believes in letting the law take its own course. But this issue has only given the BJP more fuel to politicize,” Doshi concluded.
