Headlines
Madhya Pradesh CM is Vyapam scam 'kingpin': Congress
New Delhi/Bhopal, July 6
The Congress on
Monday reiterated its demand for a Supreme Court-monitored CBI probe
into the Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh and called for Chief Minister
Shivraj Singh Chouhan's immediate resignation for "misleading" the scam
probe.
"The chief minister is the kingpin of the Vyapam scam. Any
probe into it will essentially require that he is thoroughly
interrogated and investigated," Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala
told media persons in New Delhi.
"This is only possible if he
steps down as chief minister. Therefore, the Congress demands that he
resign immediately and submit himself to an independent inquiry," he
added.
A similar demand was made in Bhopal by the Congress's
Madhya Pradesh unit which accused Chief Minister Chouhan of being
responsible for the chaos created by the Vyapam-organised examinations
and the deaths, under suspicious circumstances, related to the scam.
Terming
Chouhan as the "kingpin" of the Vyapam scam, Congress state unit
president Arun Yadav told reporters: "The chief minister and his family
are involved in the Vyapam scam. The matter as of now is being
investigated by the special task force under the supervision of the high
court-appointed special investigation team. But the Congress does not
trust this investigation because it is being conducted, keeping in mind
state instructions."
The scam is related to irregularities in
admission and recruitment conducted by Madhya Pradesh Vyavsayik
Pareeksha Mandal (Vyapam). More than 40 people associated with the scam
have lost their lives, including a TV journalist covering it.
In
New Delhi, Surjewala said: "Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday
demanded a neutral investigation in the Vyapam deaths, including that of
a journalist. Is Chouhan refusing to listen to his own government?"
"Does his reluctance reflect his jitteriness and an attempt to stifle the truth and divert the investigation," he asked.
"Chouhan
is misleading the nation and telling a lie. He is again hoodwinking the
nation. Why was the chief minister not able to stop this sinister scam
between 2009 and 2013," the Congress leader remarked.
Senior
Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, who filed a PIL in the Supreme Court to
seek an independent probe into the scam, tweeted: "Shivraj Singh
Chouhan should be sacked and an impartial probe should be done in the
Vyapam scam."
Arun Yadav said in Bhopal: "The Vyapam scam has
snowballed into a scam of mega-proportions. Its enquiry should be
conducted by the Central Bureau of Investigation under the purview of
the Supreme Court. The chief minister has long promoted anti-corruption.
That being so, he should himself ask for a CBI probe."