Shivraj Singh Chouhan heads to Delhi amid Vyapam row, may meet PM Narendra Modi

BHOPAL: In the midst of the raging Vyapam scam controversy, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan left for New Delhi this evening, sparking speculations that he may meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the massive examination and recruitment scandal.

"First, he boarded a state plane from here for New Delhi around 2.50 pm. But 10 minutes after the take off, the aircraft had to return due to bad weather," S K Mishra, Principal Secretary of the Chief Minister, told PTI.

Two hours later, Chouhan left for New Delhi by a regular commercial flight from here, Mishra said.

However, so far there is no official confirmation if Chouhan will meet the PM.

"He will take part in some programmes in the national capital," Public Relation Department's Commissioner Anupam Rajan told PTI.

When specifically asked if he will meet the PM, Rajan said, "I have no idea."

Chouhan recently had a detailed discussion with BJP president Amit Shah during the latter's Bhopal visit after the Vyapam case was handed over to CBI for probe by Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh in a tweet today asked if Modi and Shah would seek the MP CM's resignation. "Amit Shah summons Vasundhara Raje and Shivraj. Would he, Modi and RSS have guts to ask for their resignation?" Digvijay tweeted.

Chouhan's Delhi visit assumes significance in view of Parliament's Monsoon session beginning from July 21.

Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia has already said that the issue of Vyapam scam will be raised during Parliament session and accused the Madhya Pradesh government of "inaction" in probing the massive scandal, which allegedly has claimed the lives of many accused and witnesses.

Notably, the issue of death of TV journalist Akshay Singh, who went to Meghnagar in Jhabua district to cover the mysterious death of MBBS student Namrata Damor whose name figured in the Vyapam scam, came into international focus with a UN body calling for a probe into his death.

After taking over the case from Special Task Force (STF), which was probing the scam, CBI has registered over a dozen FIRs in the scandal, including that of "murder" in the mysterious death of Damor.