Vyapam scam: Digvijay demands CBI probe

Alleging that the Special Task Force was adopting double standards in probe, he said it was not taking action

Congress today sought to put Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan in the dock with senior leader Digvijay Singh demanding a CBI probe into the Rs 2,000-crore alleged Vyapam scam concerning the Professional Examination Board in the state.

"When two former chief ministers Uma Bharati and myself are demanding that a CBI inquiry should be ordered in the case, and if the chief minister is spotlessly clean then he should immediately accept the demand", Singh said.

He was addressing a press conference jointly with state PCC Chief Arun Yadav and CLP leader Satyadev Katare on the Vyapam scam on which the opposition is seeking to turn the heat on the state government.

Expressing dissatisfaction over the investigation being carried out by the Special Task Force, he claimed that if CBI is entrusted the probe, it will lead to action against the Chief Minister.

Alleging that the Special Task Force was adopting double standards in the probe, he said it was not taking action against the main conspirators of the scam due to "pressure" from the chief minister.

Singh quoted former chief minister and BJP leader Bharati as saying that the scam was bigger than the fodder scam in Bihar involving RJD chief Lalu Prasad.

He wondered as to why there has been no action taken by the STF against influential persons like Sudhir Sharma, a mining businessman and Laxmikant Sharam, a former Minister, despite an FIR registered against them.