Shivraj Singh Chouhan is as holy as river Ganga, says Madhya Pradesh BJP President Nand Kumar Chauhan
To a list of controversial comments on the Vyapam scam, the BJP's chief in Madhya Pradesh has added another. "There are no regrets," Nand Kumar Chauhan said when asked whether his party regretted what had happened over the years in the scandal.
"Out of seven lakh admissions, only 2,000 people were illegally admitted and 31 people died. Vyapam scam
mein hamey afsos nahin hain (There's no regret on the Vyapam scam)," Mr Chauhan said on Sunday.
He added that Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is "as holy as the river Ganga and the CBI probe will prove it."
This morning, Mr Chauhan backtracked and said he had been misquoted. "Of course the deaths are disappointing. I am saddened by them. Any death would be saddening and disappointing. I maintain that the Chief Minister is innocent. What I said on 'no regrets' is about the investigation, not the case," he said.
The investigation into the admissions and recruitment scam, handled till now by the state police, was turned over to the CBI last week after the unusual number of deaths - 36 since 2012 - was brought to the Supreme Court's notice. The opposition Congress has alleged that the deaths are the result of a sinister cover-up since the STF began its inquiry.
Last week, state minister Kailash Vijayavargiya was widely condemned for his callous comment on a journalist who died suddenly while reporting on the Vyapam scam. "What journalist? Can there be a bigger journalist than me?" he told reporters, but claimed later that he was merely speaking "off the record."
The Vyapam scam revolves around a massive swindle linked to qualifying tests for colleges and jobs as government teachers, doctors and policemen. Lakhs of candidates allegedly paid bribes to manipulate the exam process, including hiring proxies to take the test for them