'Sack Shivraj Chouhan, even CAG indicts MP govt over Vyapam', Ajay Singh writes to PM Modi

Correspondent

NewsBits.in

BHOPAL: Senior Congress leader Ajay Singh has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking him to remove MP chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

Singh, who is Congress legislature party (CLP) president and Leader of Opposition in Assembly, has urged Modi to take action in wake of the CAG report indicting MP government over Vyapam scam.

In the letter, Singh mentions that the recently released Comptroller and Audigor General (CAG) audti report has made scathing comments over the manner in which postings were made in Vyapam.

"The Vyapam scam continued for years and Shivraj Singh Chouhan was CM during this period. Also, he had the portfolio of Technical education too for sometime. Higher education minister was jailed in connection with the scam."

"Besides, there are serious allegations against Vyapam officials and OSDs apart from suspicion that hard disk of Vyapam was tampered. The Prime Minister has always said that he would not tolerate corruption and hence he should ensure that Shivraj Chouhan resigns", said Ajay Singh.

"Shivraj has been CM for over a decade and he can't escape responsibility because the scam began and continued during his tenure. Thousands were arrested and an entire generation of youth suffered because of this scam", he further said. 

In his letter, he mentions that CAG report led to summon issued to the then PM Manmohan Singh but Chouhan was never quizzed though there were 55 FIRs, thousands of arrests, hundreds of absconders and over 50 eaths linked to scam.

"CAG report is so important that BJP insisted on Prime Minister's resignation during UPA rule but now it is evading the issue". In this state, two BJP chief ministers (Uma Bharti and Babulal Gaur) resigned over comparatively minor issues, hence, why can't Shivraj resign and come clean, he added. 

The CAG report was recently tabled in the MP Assembly. It noted that the appointments to the post of director and controller of the board were made by systemic subversion of rules resulting into undue favours to the officers.

The report recomments that all these irregularities should be probed and responsibility ought to be fixed. It says that certain people were appointed to top positions even though they lacked qualifications and despite EOW’s inquiry pending against them.

In a scathing indictment, the report notes, “Thus, a primary function of the government to ensure free and fair recruitment to its own services, which was till now being conducted by the PSC/government departments, was jettisoned in favour of an institution which was neither statutory nor independent, nor functioned under well laid regulations.”

Earlier, Ajay Singh said that MP government should come clear on status of Vyapam. "It terms Vyapam autonomous but when it comes to using its funds and making appointments, government does it whimiscally and without any transparency". "Without applications and interviews, appointments were made at the top posts in the Vyapam", further said.