Cong's charges against Chouhan baseless: BJP

The BJP today termed as "baseless" and "politically motivated" the Congress' allegation that the CBI clean chit to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in the Vyapam case was based on evidence, which had been tampered with.

BJP spokesperson GVL Narsimha Rao said Congress leaders had levelled similar charges against Chouhan earlier too for which they had been "discredited". It has raked up the issue again for "political benefits", he said.

"The Congress party's allegations against the charge sheet in the Vyapam case and its allegations against Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan are completely baseless and politically motivated. The Congress party is recycling its old lies in the mistaken hope that this will politically benefit them," Rao said.
 

He said Congress' attack against the CBI stemmed from the fact that the agency's charge sheet was not "politically conveninent" for the party.

Earlier today, the Congress dubbed the CBI as "Compromise Bureau of Investigation" after it gave a virtual clean chit to Chouhan in the case. It alleged that CBI officers "tampered" with the hard disc of a computer seized from an accused.

"The same charges were levelled by the Congress and its leaders led by Digvijay Singh last year based onfabricated and forged excel sheets submitted by Singh to the Special investigation Team (SIT).

"Based on a thorough forensic examination by reputed forensic labs, theJabalpur High Court had ruled in April this year that the excel sheet presented is tampered, fabricated and forged. The Congress party is recycling its old lies in the mistaken hope that this will politically benefit them," Rao said.

The Congress had repeatedly asked for a CBI probe in the the Vyapam case but is now attacking it because its charge sheet in the Supreme Court is not politically convenient to the party, he said.

"Isn't it highly opportunistic of the Congress party to switch its trust in the CBI based on the outcome of investigations?" he asked.

The scandal relates to irregularities in recruitment for government jobs and admissions to educational institutions through competitive examinations held by the Madhya Pradesh Vyavsayik Pariksha Mandal or Vyapam.