File photo of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan
Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh has been described as a "born conspirator" by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who is under fire from the opposition for his alleged role in the Vyapam scam.
Mr Chouhan said, "Digvijaya is a born conspirator and Congressmen always hit below the belt. They are unable to digest that a farmer's son had become Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh and therefore levelling baseless allegations."
Vyapam is the acronym for the Hindi name of the state's exam board which involved a blatant, state-wide manipulation of recruitment exams for colleges and government jobs through bribery. The scam, which has engulfed the Madhya Pradesh government and is said to involve ministers, judges and bureaucrats, has caused a countrywide political storm.
Mr Chouhan said, "We made a system and when we found irregularities in it, we caught those responsible for it and sent them to jail. Despite that Congress is defaming me."
Yesterday, the 56-year-old was addressing his first public meeting after the Vyapam scam probe was handed over to the CBI earlier this month, at Bhabhra - the birth place of revolutionary leader Chandra Shekhar Azad. He was speaking at a meeting organised on the occasion of Azad's birth anniversary in Alirajpur district.