Shivraj is the real whistle-blower, reiterates BJP

Party shows solidarity with MP chief minister; says his honesty is impeccable

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan addressing a press conference at Mantralaya in Bhopal. Photo: PTI
Shashikant Trivedi Bhopal
Last Updated : Jul 14 2015 | 6:00 PM IST
What could be termed as an insult to whistleblowers who raised Vyapam scandal, Union minister for steel and mines Narendra Tomar today said that media and various quarters of society should recognise that Shivraj Singh Chouhan is real whistleblower in this case. Party chief Amit Shah is also learnt to have lauded the Madhya Pradesh chief minister for his efforts in making the state a developed one.  

"Entire BJP shows solidarity with Chouhan and recognises what has done to bring the guilty to the justice. It is his tough decisions and massive efforts that yielded results and 2600 people are accused and 378 are in jail," said Tomar. He also added that Chouhan wanted to put in a proper system of recruitment and hence it was necessary for him to take this tough stand.

Read more from our special coverage on "VYAPAM SCAM"



The Union minister listed out development work in the state and said that Chouhan had helped the state shed the 'Bimaru state' stigma.

"His honesty in Vyapam issue is impeccable," Tomar said here. Referring to July 9 orders of Supreme Court he said the apex court had issued orders for CBI probe only when Chouhan made an appeal.

"The Congress is spreading falsehood about Vyapam and Chouhan to reap political benefits. They are in this practice since last few years but the fact is that they have lost elections after elections, they will gain nothing out of it," he asserted and questioned, "Why have they called state-wide bandh tomorrow? They just want to propagate falsehood about Vyapam scam to gain political mileage."

Congress has called for a state-wide Bandh in protest against the scam and press for its demand for chief minister's resignation. The main opposition Congress flayed the BJP’s stance. “This is a move of Modi’s ministers to directly impact CBI investigation,” KK Mishra, spokesperson state unit of Congress said.

When asked why Chouhan moved apex court so late after the scam came to his knowledge, Tomar said, "High Court monitored investigation by STF was going in right direction but a sad episode of death of a journalist Akshay Singh raised many questions. To maintain that BJP and his government are transparent in all issues, Chouhan moved to High Court and then Supreme Court without a miss and appealed for a CBI probe into the matter."

On being asked, if Chouhan should not resign on moral grounds for an impartial investigation, Tomar said, "Chouhan is the chief minister and will remain the chief minister in future too." Vyapam scam pertains to rigging of entrance examination of government jobs in which various officials of Vypam also known as professional Board of Examination and a Chouhan government minister Laxmikant Sharma are accused. Even state governor was an accused in an FIR, which was later quashed by High Court.
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First Published: Jul 14 2015 | 4:58 PM IST

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