Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): A special court on Saturday granted bail to Congress Rajya Sabha member Digvijaya Singh in a defamation case filed by a BJP leader whom he had accused of being involved in the Vyapam scam that rocked Madhya Pradesh in 2013.
The court dealing with cases against MPs and MLAs granted relief to the Congress leader in the defamation case filed in 2014, said Singh's lawyer Ajay Gupta said. Singh had been asked to appear in the court.
The Vyapam scam relates to alleged manipulation in the selection process for government colleges and jobs conducted by the then Madhya Pradesh Vyavsayik Pariksha Mandal (Vyapam), a professional exam board. It involved the alleged impersonation of candidates, rampant copying and other malpractices.
Talking to reporters later, an undeterred Singh said he faces cases in four states.
"The court has granted bail to me. I have written all these letters (waving papers) in 2014-15. Our demand for a CBI investigation (in Vyapam scam) was accepted. The Shivraj Singh Chouhan government of MP has so far not taken any action against the (Vyapam) accused. They are still living in government accommodations," he said.
Accuses BJP of indulging in corruption through middlemen
Singh accused the present BJP government headed by Chouhan of indulging in corruption through "middlemen".
BJP's current state president V D Sharma had filed a defamation case in 2014 after Singh accused him of being involved in the Vyapam scam.
Sharma on Saturday said that in his defamation case, the court in December 2022 had ordered the registration of a criminal case (under IPC section 500) against Singh.
Sharma expressed surprise that Singh was boasting that he faces cases in four states.
BJP hits back
"Madhya Pradesh was a BIMARU (backward) state under Digvijaya Singh before 2003. Chouhan is working for the welfare of the poor and developing the state. We don't want to use the words people use for the Congress leader (Singh). The entire country knows who the middlemen are," Sharma said.
Sharma also accused Singh of questioning the Army, a reference to the latter's recent remarks questioning the authenticity of India's surgical strike across the Line of Control in 2016.
The CBI had taken over the investigation into the Vypam scam following the Supreme Court's order in 2015. The Vyapam is now named MP Employees Selection Board.
