Will quit politics if allegations found true: Chouhan

This was Chouhan’s first public response to the recent allegations.

MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan

Under attack from several quarters over the MPPEB scam, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan Wednesday said he would not only take political “sanyas” (retirement) but renounce the world if allegations against him were proved.

“They are hitting below the belt. They have attacked my innocent wife. Is it a crime to be the CM’s wife?,” Chouhan asked in the Assembly while replying to a day-long debate over the adjournment motion on the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB) scam.

This was Chouhan’s first public response to the recent allegations. Recently, the CM appeared worried and vulnerable, in light of reports that more than the Congress, a section of the BJP was gunning for him.

“In the wake of flood of allegations, I wondered for a while if I had committed a crime by becoming the CM,’’ he said and alleged MPPEB was set up because there was no set procedure of recruitment during the Congress regime and that appointments were made on “notesheets”.

Armed with documents dating to the Congress rule, the CM reeled off names of relatives of senior leaders, bringing Opposition MLAs on their feet. Amid din, the Speaker adjourned the session for 15 minutes, and later for the day, saying Chouhan would resume his reply Thursday.

The day began on a dramatic note when the Speaker and Chouhan accepted the demand for adjournment motion and began the debate immediately in place of the question-hour.

The CM, in the House and later talking to reporters, accused the Opposition of levelling baseless allegations against him and his relatives. He said the High Court had rejected 14 petitions seeking a CBI probe and had praised the Special Task Force.

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The CM claimed only 228 cases of irregularities had been found and the number was insignificant. He, however, admitted the irregularities had come to notice in 2009, but an anonymous letter received about impersonators in the pre-medical test in June 2013 led to unearthing of the larger scam.

He dared the Congress to make public records of calls made from CM Office and said a maternal uncle of his — named by the Opposition as one of the callers — died eight years ago. The CM did not comment on the alleged involvement of his former private secretary.

Leader of Opposition Satyadev Katare said his party would not let the CM give his reply till he agreed to a CBI probe.