There is a sense of shock and disbelief over the disclosures that both the state governor Ram Naresh Yadav and Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan are facing the possibility of being booked on the charge of using influence in securing jobs for their favorites, in gross violation of the relevant criterion.

It may be recalled here that more than a thousand persons have been made accused for their involvement in, what is now known as the Vyapam scam. Vyapam stands for MP Professional Examination Board. This board holds examinations, test and interviews to select candidates for various government jobs and also for admissions to professional institutions including medical, engineering, nursing and management colleges. As per the investigation done by the Special Task Force of the state police, several influential people, including ministers, other politicians and officers managed to get jobs and admissions for their favourites without having requisite qualification. Following investigation many of them are already in prison. Among those who are in prison include Laxmikant Sharma, a powerful minister in Chauhan ministry and a confidante of Chauhan.

But so far there was no proof of Chief Minister's involvement in the scam. But a few days back, Digvijay Singh former Chief Minister and AICC general secretary made a sensational disclosure when he produced some documents to prove that the Chief Minister also used his influence to get jobs for his favorites. He held a press conference to claim that he has definite proof against the Chief Minister. Before holding the press conference he visited the office of Special Investigating Team, appointed by the state High Court to oversee the probe into the scam and submitted relevant documents. Significantly he submitted relevant documents on affidavit. During his visit to the SIT office, he was accompanied by two eminent Delhi based lawyers K T Tulsi and Vivek Tankha.

In order to demonstrate that the entire Madhya Pradesh Congress was with him, he ensured the presence of former union ministers Kamal Nath, Suresh Pachori and Jyotiraditya Scindia at the press conference. The very fact that Digvijay Singh made allegations on affidavit shows that he is sure of his position. According to law, if anything said on oath proves wrong, the person who signs the affidavit can face legal action. Digvijay Singh alleged that the relevant documents were tampered and the word 'CM' was removed wherever it occurred and was replaced by 'Raj Bhavan' and (Union Minister) 'Uma Bharati'. From the moment Digvijay Singh made these allegations, the Congress is asking Chauhan to step downs.

As the Vidhan Sabha is in session, Congress MLAs are disrupting the proceedings of the House demanding Chief Minister to resign. But the Chief Minister, his cabinet colleagues and party leaders have termed Digvijay Singh's allegations as baseless. But looking at the seriousness of the issue, Chauhan rushed to New Delhi to apprise the central leadership of the development. During his Delhi visit, he met union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. Meanwhile, Digvijay Singh has threatened to make more disclosures about the Chief Minister's involvement.

The case regarding the state governor Ram Naresh Yadav is more interesting and complicated. For the first time governor's name figured in the context of the Vyapam scam when Dhanraj Yadav, his officer on special duty was arrested on the charge of his involvement in the scam. Dhanraj Yadav was his confidante since many years. Later, the involvement of the Governor's son Shailesh in the scam was also confirmed. Now there are indications of the involvement of the governor himself. In view of these facts, action against the governor has become imminent. Meanwhile the State High Court and Justice Chandra Bhushan, who heads the SIT, has given green signal for initiating action against the involved persons, no matter how highly placed they might be.

Ram Naresh Yadav was made Madhya Pradesh governor by the Manmohan Singh government and now the Congress is demanding his resignation. The anger of the Congress legislators came in the open when they did not allow the governor to deliver his inaugural speech on the first day of the budget session of the state Vidhan Sabha. He was greeted with the slogan 'Governor Wapas Jao'. In view of the chaotic situation in the House, he could not complete his address and left the House within fifteen minutes. Interestingly, while the BJP government is defending the governor, Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad, a constituent of the Sangh Parivar, is agitating demanding his resignation.

Inside the Congress also, there a few MLAs who feel that it was not proper to demand governor's resignation. Mukesh Nayak is one such MLA. Nayak is defending governor because the governor appointed him as the Chairman of the State Red Cross.

Meanwhile three persons who played key role in disclosing the sordid happening in the Examination Board have sought special protection. They have complained that they are getting threats from the affected persons. While the name of the third person is not known two persons Ashish Chaturvedi and Dr. Anand Rai have sought police protection. (IPA Service)