He was speaking at the launch of ‘Manpadsad’, a book of Konkani short stories written by Namitha Tushar Kavlekar.
“For SSC, I mentioned 1974-75 instead of 1973-74 as date of completion, and for BSc it is written as 1979-80 instead of 77-78. Only the years of the degree have been changed. I accept that much has happened and I’m ready to face any penalty,” said Dhavalikar.
He further said that the nomination form filed with the Election Commission of India did not seek details of the degree. He alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was making it an issue to establish a base in Goa and that the people behind the issue would themselves be exposed soon.
While claiming it was important to admit mistakes, Dhavalikar said he had never forged his degree. He also said that he had earlier admitted the MGP committed mistakes during the 1967 Opinion Poll.
Dhavalikar went on to praise Konkani, which was a great language and could reach national status with the people’s effort. He appealed to Goans to love their language just as Tamils loved their own language.
Meanwhile, noted Konkani author Pundalik Naik stated that as far as literature and politics were concerned, only work and effort were important, not degrees. If a degree was important, it was to achieve a job. He said that a politician whose education was an issue in past had become an education minister in Goa.
