BJP defends MP CM; rejects Congress cited evidence as 'fake'

By PTI

Updated: Wednesday, February 18, 2015, 19:52 [IST]

Bhopal, Feb 18: BJP on Wednesday strongly defended Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan after he was criticised by the entire state Congress leadership led by its national General Secretary Digvijay Singh for his alleged role in the MPPEB scam.

The BJP also dismissed the Excel sheet furnished by the Congress as evidence against Chouhan as "fake".

"The Excel sheet produced by Congress leaders without revealing its source is 'farzi' (fake) and an attempt to malign the image of the Chief Minister and also to forge unity in the seriously divided Congress," State BJP President Nandkumar Singh Chouhan told reporters here.

The BJP General Secretary in-charge of Madhya Pradesh, Vinay Sahastrabudhhe was also present on the occasion. After the Congress leader's petition demanding a CBI probe into the scam was dismissed by the Supreme Court, Congress leaders have come out with a fake Excel sheet to keep the issue alive, he said.

When asked about the role of the Governor's son Shailesh in the scam and whether the party would demand his resignation from the post on moral grounds, Sahastrabuddhe said that it is up to the High Court monitoring the case to take a decision about the alleged role of the Governor's son (Shailesh) in the MPPEB scam, adding that the party would take an "appropriate" stand on the issue later.

He said that after losing polls one after the other including Vidhan Sabha polls, Lok Sabha polls and local body elections, Congress leaders have found the MPPEB scam as an issue to attack the BJP government.

The MP Chief Minister himself has ordered a Special Task Force probe into the incident and even allowed his former ministerial colleague's (Laxmikant Sharma) arrest which itself proves that the investigation is objective, Shastrabuddhe said.

The Congress has sharpened its attack on Chouhan with its senior leaders like Digvijay Singh, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Kamal Nath, having demanded a CBI probe into the scam as well as Chouhan's resignation.

PTI