Facing the heat over the Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh, the BJP is putting up a brave face as it lines out its strategy to shield chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan with the Opposition gunning for him.
Home minister Rajnath Singh, who met Chouhan in Bhopal on Monday, said the state government was open to a CBI probe but lobbed the ball into the high court or Supreme Court or High Court. "The government cannot ask the courts to order a CBI probe.... If Supreme Court and High Court feel SIT is not investigating properly and that a CBI inquiry must be initiated, MP government would be ready for it," he said. However, he added that a PIL was filed demanding CBI probe into the Vyapam scam and it was clearly rejected by both the HC and the SC.
Like in the case of its other regional satrap – Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje – and external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, the BJP leadership's strategy, at this stage, is to stand by Chouhan.
Singh's statement has not appeased the Opposition, to which the deaths of people linked to Vyapam has given fuel to take on the Modi government. Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the home minister's statement reflected collusion between the BJP leadership and that of the party in Madhya Pradesh.
Though there is concern in the party of the ramifications of the string of controversies involving its leaders, the BJP is trying to seem unfazed. The party, which has refuted any involvement of the state government, is using the argument that barring one prison death in Gwalior, there has been no complaint from the families of the Vyapam associated deaths.
The Opposition will make the most of the situation to take on the Modi government in Parliament, when the monsoon session begins on July 21. The Congress, against which the BJP had launched an aggressive offensive over corruption ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, is listing out the issues to corner the government.
BJP sources said the party was of the view that the state government need not order a CBI probe after Supreme Court rejecting the plea of Congress leader Digvijay Singh. However, union minister Uma Bharti said she was the first person to have suggested a CBI probe into the issue. "There is panic in Madhya Pradesh due to the deaths. I am scared for the lives of people connected to me. I am a minister but still I am scared. I will convey my fears to the CM," was quoted as saying on India Today.
" I suspect a big conspiracy," she said adding that her being named in the FIR was unfair. She backed Chouhan saying had had a clean image.
"Even in the journalist's death, the state government accepted all demands of his family, including postmortem by a panel of doctors and video-recording of the exercise and viscera tests in AIIMs," a party leader said.
Meanwhile, the party leadership is understood to have conveyed its disappointment over the insensitive remarks of BJP general secretary Kailash Vijaywargiya on the death of journalist Akshay Singh. "Forget the journalist. Is there any bigger journalist than me today." Vijaywargiya had told reporters when reporters asked about the journalist's death.
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