MPPEB scam: CM Chouhan seeks meet with Sonia over 'slanderous campaign by Cong'

Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has sought appointment of Congress President Sonia Gandhi to apprise her about the “slanderous” campaign run by her party in connection with the MPPEB scam. In a letter to Gandhi, Chouhan yesterday demanded action against Congress leaders for forging evidence in VYAPAM case while seeking an individual meeting to personally apprise her of the details in the case, an official release said today. [caption id=“attachment_2218964” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Shivraj Singh Chouhan. AFP[/caption] Chouhan said he is sure that she must be aware of the campaign that the Congress in Madhya Pradesh has been running against him and his government over the VYAPAM issue. “When this negative campaign having failed to cut any ice with the people of the state in successive elections to the state Assembly, Parliament and local bodies, the party resorted to totally baseless set of charges against him and his family,” the letter said. He said the latest campaign (of February 2015) was spearheaded by senior Congress leaders from MP –Digvijay Singh, Kamalnath and Jyotiraditya Scindia–besides all MPs, with legal assistance from their advocates. They held a press conference on February 16 alleging that the hard disk seized by police in a criminal case related to VYAPM irregularities was tampered so that no criminal case may be made out against the Chief Minister. They also allegedly produced the ‘original’ document which according to them showed the entries of “CM” at 46 places. In support of these allegations, a pen drive, report of a private forensic centre called “Truthlab” and some documents were submitted to the High Court, it said. It appears that these accusations were based on material provided by one “Prashant Pandey.” The Chief Minister said that he had immediately sent a written request to Special Investigation Team (SIT), which was set up by the order of the High Court, to inquire into the aforementioned complaint, it mentioned. The SIT completed its enquiry into the allegations and submitted its report to the court in a sealed cover. The High Court passed an order on April 24 stating that “on the basis of the seven reasons mentioned by SIT, the evidence submitted is prima facie forged. The said forged evidence was produced to mislead investigation. SIT is free to issue such instructions to STF as may be necessary to take appropriate action.” Chouhan regretted that it is indeed shocking that these senior leaders of the Congress connived with Pandey to forge evidence. “You know that such intrigues are short lived and ultimately prove counter-productive. The consequent damage to the policy is not difficult for you to appreciate,” it said. The Chief Minister said that while the political motives of launching a sustained campaign aimed at creating impression of his involvement in any criminal case is easy to understand, however, it becomes a matter of serious concern when it is accompanied by an effort to mislead the investigation. Chouhan said that he has reasons to believe that the primary objective has been to serve the interests of the accused. “It appears that the unholy nexus between senior Congress leaders, advocates and their accused friends/clients led to this slanderous, perfidious and baseless crusade.” The Chief Minister said that in the context of the aforementioned facts, he wishes to know if these leaders of the Congress party had sought your permission before using the forged evidence against him and whether you granted the same. If that not be so, would any action be taken against them for their criminal misconduct which has brought such disgrace to the party ? Chouhan said in the letter that it is essential that she knows the details of the case to appreciate its seriousness. “Therefore, I would like to meet you in person and apprise you of the these details. You may kindly indicate your convenience for this meeting,” it said. PTI