Congress demands FIR, CBI probe against Shivraj Singh Chouhan

NEW DELHI: Congress has demanded filing of a first investigation report against Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in the recruitment scam. The party also alleged that Chouhan was trying to cover up his involvement in the scam and plotting to implicate Union minister Uma Bharati, his arch-rival in BJP.

Senior Congress leaders Digvijaya Singh, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Kapil Sibal and Vivek Thanka held a joint press conference at the AICC headquarters on Monday after Singh submitted before the special investigation team a certificate from a reputed lab confirming “as original” the Excel Sheet he had produced to show that Chouhan’s name figured as the sponsor of 48 job seekers. The Congress team timed its press conference with a whistle blower in the case, a state police officer, submitting “incriminating evidence” before the court.

“BJP demands a CBI probe when an IAS officer committed suicide in Karnataka. Here is a case where the Chief Minister of the state of Madhya Pradesh used his influence to tamper with the Excel Sheet to remove his name and put in its place that of Uma Bharati, the state governor and others. There is a certificate of confirmation of the tampering. A generation of youth has lost an opportunity in life due to this scam. Over a thousand, including students and their parents are in jail. But the chief minister who is involved in the scam is presiding of an investigation by a special task force by his own government.

"Can anyone expect justice unless a FIR is registered against Shivraj Singh Chouhan and the proof is handed over to CBI,” asked Digvijaya Singh.

“The reach of the scam and the involvement of top-most leaders in it make it a fit case for CBI investigation,” said Scindia. “Let the country hear what the Prime Minister's Mann ki Baat on this scam is. Is his mind anguished? Let there also be a chai pe charcha about this scam as well,” Sibal added.