New Delhi: With the Monsoon Session about to begin in a fortnight, the one after the deaths in Vyapam scam have only added to the woes of the Narendra Modi government and the BJP.
However, unlike in the ‘Lalitgate’ episode where both the government and the BJP had rejected allegations against its senior leaders and backed them, there seems to be a reluctance in the party leaders in backing Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan.
The RSS is already miffed with Mr Chouhan after names of its senior leaders had cropped up in this recruitment scam. Stepping up its attack on Mr Chauhan, the Congress on Sunday demanded a CBI probe into the scam following deaths of a TV journalist and a medical college dean. Sources said the Prime Minister’s Office is keeping an eye on the developments in the case and the central leadership of the BJP could also seek a report from the Chief Minister.
Meanwhile, the increasing death count in the case has given fresh ammunition to the Opposition, which has already decided to corner the government over ‘Lalitgate’ issue. The Opposition has not only blamed the CM but his family members for this “enormous” and “unprecedented” scam, which has rattled both the BJP government in the state and party’s central leadership.
The Opposition has also been training its guns on Mr Chauhan after it was reported that more than 100 calls were exchanged between the CMO and the Vyapam (Professional Examination Board) chairman. “Many deaths have taken place in connection with the Vyapam scam and it remains to be seen when the state government and Centre will wake up. There is a simple solution to this, the state government just has to write to the Centre demanding a CBI inquiry,” Congress leader R.P.N. Singh said.
Another Congress leader Randeep Surjewala describe the scam as the “most sinister scam of India” and claimed the mechanism of the SIT-STF combine has proved ineffective in probing the matter.
