Goemakrponn desk
PANAJI: Noted lawyer Aires Rodrigues has questioned the honorary doctorate awarded to Siddesh Shripad Naik, son of Union Minister Shripad Naik, terming it as a “joke”.
“The conferring of a Doctorate on Siddesh Shripad Naik by the so-called Pune based Nelson Mandela Nobel Peace Award Academy is laughable besides being ridiculous and the biggest cruel political joke during this pandemic,” Aires said..
He said it is absolutely illegal as there are set rules and regulations of the University Grants Commission (UGC) for conferring PhD and equivalent degrees.
“What are the special qualifications or work towards humanity, done by Siddesh Shripad Naik for which he deserved to be conferred with this Doctorate? What is the background of this Academy which conferred such a Doctorate? Does it hold any license or permission to ushas raised of Nelson Mandela?” he asked.
Aires further recalled, “We are reminded of late Mridula Sinha the Governor of Goa from August 2014 to October 2019 who one fine day suddenly starting using the prefix Dr. to her name. After the issue was raised, the prefix Dr. just vanished from the Goa Raj Bhavan website.”
He added, now there is have Dr. Siddesh Shripad Naik, the son of recently demoted Union Minister Shripad Naik.
“What a mockery? Stooping to such low levels and making a charade of even our educational and academic arena is an utter disgrace. Our country is known for the availability of fake degrees, and now we have a market dispensing fake doctorates too.”
