LAHORE, Sept 15: A PML-Q forward bloc member has asked the PPP and the PML-N to get resignations from fake degree holders otherwise he will move the court against them.

Both the PPP and the PML-N, ruling parties in the Centre and Punjab, respectively, have the legislators having fake degrees in their ranks, but they are not interested in initiating any action against them on the direction of the Election Commission.

“I have asked both the parties to rid National and Punjab assemblies of fake degree holders within a week, otherwise I will file a petition against them in the Lahore High Court,” Ata Maneka, who carved out of a forward bloc of 40 or so members of the PML-Q, said while talking to Dawn on Saturday.

The EC about a year ago had directed the Punjab police to register a criminal case against PML-N’s Farah Deba, Afshan Farooq, Saima Aziz and Naseem Nasir, and PPP’s Safina Saima Khar for having fake degrees. The commission had found the degrees of these lawmakers bogus upon verification.

The Islampura police station had put the case in cold storage as four of the five MPAs in question belong to the ruling PML-N.

“Despite a direction by the EC, neither the PPP and PML-N have taken resignations from women legislators in question nor the police initiated any action against them,” Maneka said, adding it was a joke that fake degree holders were sitting in the assemblies under the patronage of their party leadership.

He said: “The people have started doubting the degree of every legislator.”

“The EC should take serious note of the non-compliance of its directive and instead of looking up to someone else, it should denotify the fake degree holders itself,” Maneka suggested.

He asked the mainstream parties as to why they were harbouring fake degree holder legislators when the courts had convicted some legislators, including ministers, especially in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkwa.