Guilty in Vyapam scam will not be spared: Madhya Pradesh CM

Accuses Congress of exaggerating the death figures

None of the guilty in the Vyapam scam will be spared, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan today said even as he rejected Congress's demand for his resignation over the matter.

"I am the first person who ordered registration of an FIR in 2013 after noticing irregularities in Vyapam. Seeing the complicated nature of the case, we formed the Special Task Force (STF) to probe it. It is working under the High Court- appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT).

"In my response in the Assembly two years back, I had admitted there were irregularities in a few hundred out of the lakhs of recruitment done by Vyapam. That is being probed. We will not leave anybody who is guilty. No matter how big he is," he told PTI in an email interview.

Stating that among those in custody for their involvement in Vyapam scam are some politicians, political workers and bureaucrats big and small, he insisted "it proves that we are not trying to hide it (scam)".

"In fact, we are getting a transparent probe done," he said while ruling out his resignation over the issue.

"It was I who got the Vyapam probe initiated. Nobody else had demanded it. I only transferred the probe to STF. So, where is the question of me tendering my resignation.

"STF conducted a transparent probe under SIT's supervision. Now, CBI is probing it. We and all the countrymen have full faith in CBI and the judiciary," said Chouhan.

To a question about the deaths of 47 people reportedly connected with the Vyapam, he said any demise was painful to him even as he accused Congress of exaggerating the number.

"Any death is a matter of pain to me. I am sad that Congress, instead of sympathising with the families of those who died, is playing politics and exaggerating the number of deaths.

"I am not going into the number of deaths. But I believe that there have been untimely deaths of some people associated with Vyapam. Other than that, all those deaths being linked to the Vyapam scam is bad politics aimed at scuttling the probe," Chouhan said.

The working of the Parliament in the current Monsoon session has been held up due to disruptions caused by the opposition parties' protests over the Vyapam scam and 'Lalitgate'.

Huge irregularities in recruitments for various government jobs by Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board, or Vyapam, are being probed by CBI following a Supreme Court direction in this regard.