FIR filed against AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh; 18 others in recruitment scam
Bhopal, March 1: An First Information Report (FIR) has been filed against Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh, former Speaker of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly Sriniwas Tiwari and 17 others in connection with their appointment to the legislature secretariat during the Congress regime.
Deputy
secretary
of
the
state
Assembly
Shyamlal
Maithil
filed
the
FIR
at
Jehangirabad
police
station
here.
Principal
secretary
of
the
Assembly
Bhagwandev
Israni
said
that
initially
it
had
named
the
17
personnel
but
later
the
government
added
Singh's
and
Tiwari's
names.
The FIR was filed under sections 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery for cheating) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code on the recommendations of Justice (retd) Sachindra Dwivedi committee, which found these appointments as illegal and recommended dismissal of these 17 persons, a senior official said.
The BJP government led by the current home minister Babulal Gaur had set up the committee in 2004-05 to probe the appointments made during the Congress regime from 1993-2003 when Singh was the Chief Minister and Tiwari the Speaker.
Its report was submitted in 2006. The state government then recommended a CBI probe but the Central agency declined to take over saying that state agencies were competent enough for the job.
The 17 employees include former principal secretary of Vidhan Sabha Dr A K Payasi, who had joined as a chief municipal officer and was later deputed to the Assembly.
He was then transferred to the Assembly and went on to become the principal secretary.
Incidentally, today is Digvijay Singh's birth day. Singh had recently accused Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and his wife of being involved in the MP Professional Board Examination (MPPBE) scam.
Madhya Pradesh Congress's chief spokesperson K K Mishra termed the FIR as an "act of revenge" against Singh. Congress would not be cowed down by such tactics, Mishra said.
Earlier, when Congress raised the MPPEB scam during the Assembly's budget session this year which was adjourned sine die abruptly, parliamentary affairs minister Narottam Mishra had said the government would also probe the appointments made during the Congress regime.
Digvijay Singh could not be contacted for comment.
Oneindia
News
(With
agency
inputs)