The woes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi�s government do not seem to end. Every day there is a new controversy or scam even before the previous has died down

The scam linked to Shivraj Chouhan

Close on the heels of Union Minister Sushma Swaraj and Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje’s controversial links with Lalit Modi, wanted in India for economic offences, came Union Minister Smriti Irani’s conflicting claims on her educational qualifications.
Now comes another blow: another Chief Minister of yet another BJP ruled state: Shivraj Chouhan in Madhya Pradesh.
Chouhan is in the eye of a storm for 42 mysterious deaths, including a senior journalist’s, who was unraveling layers of what has popularly come to be known as the Vyapam scam.
Prominent people including a former governor and Chouhan are alleged to be involved. Those who have died were either accused or suspects in the case.
The scam that dates back to 2007 is a nexus between politicians, bureaucrats, middlemen and bribe-paying candidates. Hefty bribes were paid or extracted, to either pass exams for state government jobs or for admission to higher-educational institutions. In exchange for kickbacks, politicians, bureaucrats and others were allowing imposters to take the admission exam. Similar "proxy candidates" were used for recruitment exams for jobs as government teachers and doctors.
In many cases, students were paid to use forged admission cards to impersonate candidates and write tests for them in connivance with officials, according to police.
The scale of the investigation is vast -- it has named more than 2,500 people as suspects accused of forgery and impersonation. Around 2,000 have been arrested. Of these, many are students, parents and middlemen.
VYAPAM, an acronym for Madhya Pradesh Vyavasayik Pariksha Mandal, is better understood as the state Professional Examination Board. This conducts recruitment examinations for different state level posts in departments of police, agriculture, women and child development, food and drugs, pollution control among others. This it does along with the Pre Medical and Pre Engineering Entrance Test for colleges run by the state government.
Two years ago, it was found that key people were changing original mark sheets to get their students a passing score. It was a racket that helped students pass their pre-medical tests.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court ordered a special investigation following a Public Interest Litigation alleging corruption by highly placed officials. As investigations progressed, it was revealed that the officers were pawns in the game involving kings.
Names of big businessmen as well as prominent politicians cropped up. Investigation revealed that many candidates who appeared in the examinations had political patronage. In this context, names of former Chief Minister and currently Union Minister Uma Bharti, state’s former education minister Laxmikant Sharma cropped up.
The scam also zeroed in on the name of the then Governor Ram Naresh Yadav who had to resign, after his son’s involvement was established. Following a police case registered against the Governor’s son, he was found dead in his father’s official residence. What is intriguing is that even the autopsy couldn't ascertain the cause of death.
The Governor’s son was not the only one.
Fourty four others, also died: allegedly done away with before they could sing. Strangely the investigating team dubbed the deaths as natural overlooking the number and giving a go-by to the fact that all who died were connected in one way or the other with the scam: either as witnesses, suspects or accused in the case.
It is too much of a coincidence that last week, TV journalist Akshay Singh died under mysterious circumstances soon after he had interviewed the parents of a girl who was found dead after her name figured in the massive admission and recruitment scandal.
A day later the cops found the body of a college dean, Arun Sharma, in a hotel room in New Delhi.  He was probing fake examinees. Given that Sharma was helping investigators, his death has cast a shadow on the fairness of the probe.
Both, journalist Singh and Dean Sharma dying within a day of each other has raised hackles. It also prompted a minister to say that she now fears for the lives of those connected to her: "I am scared for the lives of people connected to me. I am a minister but still I am scared," is what Union Minister Uma Bharati is reported to have said.  
The deaths have continued. Two more were reported after Singh and Sharma had died: a constable who was questioned by the Special Task Force four months ago was found hanging from the ceiling and at his house in Orchaa; and a woman trainee sub-inspector was found dead in a lake in the state that Chouhan rules.
The issue is no longer one of corruption but the large number of deaths that have occurred of those linked to the scam in some way or the other. Apart from there being a question mark on the spate of suspicious deaths, there is a credibility crisis.
Worse still, Chouhan is unabashed. Instead of conceding to demands of stepping down, he has the nerve to say that the BJP leadership is standing solidly behind him.
Deaths notwithstanding, it is this more that anything else that is shocking.
It is not about support that any party or Prime Minister gives or does not give. It is about the ethics of continuing in office after scandals have rocked the regime. It is about looking the other way when propriety demands that one demits office and waits till one’s name is clear. It is not about being guilty or not guilty but about leading by example that a taint, however unsubstantiated, calls for corrective measures.
BJP patriarch L.K.Advani hit the nail on the head when he said that following his name figuring in the hawala scandal he had voluntarily resigned as an MP. Advani had in a recent interview said that there is need to maintain probity in public life: "For a politician, to command people's trust is the biggest responsibility. What morality demands is 'raj dharma', he said. Honesty, the veteran leader said, is the best virtue reiterating that there should be no compromise on corruption.
Advani’s remarks came after the controversy surrounding Modi’s ministers hit headlines.
Advani had resigned in 1996 following allegations of his involvement in a scandal. No one had asked him to.
In fact, his senior colleague Atal Behari Vajpayee dissuaded him from putting in his papers but Advani listened to his call of conscience. It is this conscience that the people of India are trying to awaken in the current crop of leaders. Sadly, the knock seems to fall on deaf ears.

The writer is a senior Indian journalist, political commentator and columnist of The Independent. She can be reached at: [email protected]

 

The woes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi�s government do not seem to end. Every day there is a new controversy or scam even before the previous has died down

The scam linked to Shivraj Chouhan

Close on the heels of Union Minister Sushma Swaraj and Chief Minister Vasundhra Rajes controversial links with Lalit Modi, wanted in India for economic offences, came Union Minister Smriti Iranis conflicting claims on her educational qualifications. Now comes another blow: another Chief Minister of yet another BJP ruled state: Shivraj Chouhan in Madhya Pradesh. Chouhan is in the eye of a storm for 42 mysterious deaths, including a senior journalists, who was unraveling layers of what has popularly come to be known as the Vyapam scam. Prominent people including a former governor and Chouhan are alleged to be involved. Those who have died were either accused or suspects in the case. The scam that dates back to 2007 is a nexus between politicians, bureaucrats, middlemen and bribe-paying candidates. Hefty bribes were paid or extracted, to either pass exams for state government jobs or for admission to higher-educational institutions. In exchange for kickbacks, politicians, bureaucrats and others were allowing imposters to take the admission exam. Similar proxy candidates were used for recruitment exams for jobs as government teachers and doctors. In many cases, students were paid to use forged admission cards to impersonate candidates and write tests for them in connivance with officials, according to police. The scale of the investigation is vast -- it has named more than 2,500 people as suspects accused of forgery and impersonation. Around 2,000 have been arrested. Of these, many are students, parents and middlemen. VYAPAM, an acronym for Madhya Pradesh Vyavasayik Pariksha Mandal, is better understood as the state Professional Examination Board. This conducts recruitment examinations for different state level posts in departments of police, agriculture, women and child development, food and drugs, pollution control among others. This it does along with the Pre Medical and Pre Engineering Entrance Test for colleges run by the state government. Two years ago, it was found that key people were changing original mark sheets to get their students a passing score. It was a racket that helped students pass their pre-medical tests. The Madhya Pradesh High Court ordered a special investigation following a Public Interest Litigation alleging corruption by highly placed officials. As investigations progressed, it was revealed that the officers were pawns in the game involving kings. Names of big businessmen as well as prominent politicians cropped up. Investigation revealed that many candidates who appeared in the examinations had political patronage. In this context, names of former Chief Minister and currently Union Minister Uma Bharti, states former education minister Laxmikant Sharma cropped up. The scam also zeroed in on the name of the then Governor Ram Naresh Yadav who had to resign, after his sons involvement was established. Following a police case registered against the Governors son, he was found dead in his fathers official residence. What is intriguing is that even the autopsy couldnt ascertain the cause of death. The Governors son was not the only one. Fourty four others, also died: allegedly done away with before they could sing. Strangely the investigating team dubbed the deaths as natural overlooking the number and giving a go-by to the fact that all who died were connected in one way or the other with the scam: either as witnesses, suspects or accused in the case. It is too much of a coincidence that last week, TV journalist Akshay Singh died under mysterious circumstances soon after he had interviewed the parents of a girl who was found dead after her name figured in the massive admission and recruitment scandal. A day later the cops found the body of a college dean, Arun Sharma, in a hotel room in New Delhi. He was probing fake examinees. Given that Sharma was helping investigators, his death has cast a shadow on the fairness of the probe. Both, journalist Singh and Dean Sharma dying within a day of each other has raised hackles. It also prompted a minister to say that she now fears for the lives of those connected to her: I am scared for the lives of people connected to me. I am a minister but still I am scared, is what Union Minister Uma Bharati is reported to have said. The deaths have continued. Two more were reported after Singh and Sharma had died: a constable who was questioned by the Special Task Force four months ago was found hanging from the ceiling and at his house in Orchaa; and a woman trainee sub-inspector was found dead in a lake in the state that Chouhan rules. The issue is no longer one of corruption but the large number of deaths that have occurred of those linked to the scam in some way or the other. Apart from there being a question mark on the spate of suspicious deaths, there is a credibility crisis. Worse still, Chouhan is unabashed. Instead of conceding to demands of stepping down, he has the nerve to say that the BJP leadership is standing solidly behind him. Deaths notwithstanding, it is this more that anything else that is shocking. It is not about support that any party or Prime Minister gives or does not give. It is about the ethics of continuing in office after scandals have rocked the regime. It is about looking the other way when propriety demands that one demits office and waits till ones name is clear. It is not about being guilty or not guilty but about leading by example that a taint, however unsubstantiated, calls for corrective measures. BJP patriarch L.K.Advani hit the nail on the head when he said that following his name figuring in the hawala scandal he had voluntarily resigned as an MP. Advani had in a recent interview said that there is need to maintain probity in public life: For a politician, to command peoples trust is the biggest responsibility. What morality demands is raj dharma, he said. Honesty, the veteran leader said, is the best virtue reiterating that there should be no compromise on corruption. Advanis remarks came after the controversy surrounding Modis ministers hit headlines. Advani had resigned in 1996 following allegations of his involvement in a scandal. No one had asked him to. In fact, his senior colleague Atal Behari Vajpayee dissuaded him from putting in his papers but Advani listened to his call of conscience. It is this conscience that the people of India are trying to awaken in the current crop of leaders. Sadly, the knock seems to fall on deaf ears. The writer is a senior Indian journalist, political commentator and columnist of The Independent. She can be reached at: [email protected]