Vyapam issue to rock MP Assembly's monsoon session

Besides the Vyapam scam, the Congress will also raise the issue of "lawlessness" in the state by highlighting the killing of journalist Sandeep Kothari

The Madhya Pradesh Assembly is likely to witness a stormy monsoon session beginning tomorrow with the Congress planning to raise the Vyapam scam, while the government will highlight that it played a vital role for a CBI probe into the scandal.

"We want that the Assembly should begin with condoling the deaths of 48 people linked to the Vyapam scam. And for this, we have already written to Assembly Speaker Dr Sitasharan Sharma. We have not yet received any word from the Speaker," Leader of the Opposition, Satyadev Katare, told reporters here.

On the other hand, the ruling BJP has already issued a whip to its ministers and legislators to be present during the session, scheduled to end on July 31, and thwart the attempts of the Congress to corner the government over the Vyapam scam.

BJP legislators are going to vociferously argue that Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan took the lid off the Vyapam scam and cleared the way for a CBI probe into it, a ruling party MLA said.

Besides, the Congress was also going to raise the issue of "lawlessness" in the state by highlighting the killing of journalist Sandeep Kothari, who was kidnapped from Balaghat district and burnt alive allegedly by mining mafia last month. His body was found in Maharashtra.

The multi-crore MP Professional Examination Board (MPPEB) scam, popularly known as the Vyapam scam, involving politicians, bureaucrats and high profile touts, pertains to massive admissions and recruitments to government medical colleges and government departments respectively by fraudulent means.

The CBI, which is now probing the scam following the Supreme Court's order, has already registered over a dozen cases related to the racket.

The MP's Special Task Force, which earlier probed the scam, had registered about 55 FIRs and put up 28 challans in the court in connection with the scandal.