Vyapam scam: SC to hear Digvijay Singh, 3 whistle-blower's plea seeking CBI probe today

July 9, 2015

New Delhi/Bhopal, Jul 9: As the mysterious Vyapam scam is getting murkier with each passing day, the Supreme Court on Thursday will hear a plea of Congress leader Digvijay Singh and three whistle-blower's seeking an apex court-monitored CBI probe into the matter.

CBI probeA bench headed by chief justice HL Dattu had agreed to give an urgent hearing over the said scam and had posted all petitions to be heard today. The infamous Vyapam scam also includes a string of mystery deaths.

A battery of high-profile lawyers are likely to be fielded to argue for an investigation into the Vyapam scam by the CBI which should be monitored by the apex court. According to reports a possible argument could also take place for the removal of Madhya Pradesh governor Ram Naresh Yadav for his alleged role in the irregularities.

Digvijay Singh and the three whistle-blowers - Ashish Chaturvedi, Anand Rai and Prashant Pandey - while demanding for a SC-monitored CBI probe had said that they have no faith in the state agency's Special Task Force (STF) that is probing the scam.

Meanwhile, taking a dig at Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP government in Madhya Pradesh, the Congress leader termed Vyapam as the 'Mama (Uncle)' of all scandals.

Instilling his faith in Supreme Court, the Congress leader wrote on Twitter - "The whole Nation is waiting for Hon Supreme Court for their decision on 9th in Vyapam. I am sure Truth would prevail."

However, on Tuesday, bowing to public pressure, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had recommended a CBI probe into the snowballing examination scandal that has bruised his government’s credibility with people connected to the case dying mysteriously.

He had announced the decision at a hurriedly-called press conference in Bhopal and his government filed a plea in the state high court to allow a central inquiry into the Vyapam scam that saw widespread rigging of competitive exams for entry into Madhya Pradesh’s professional education institutes, with everybody from students and politicians to bureaucrats and doctors under suspicion.

Earlier, the apex court had granted four months more time to the Special Investigation Team (SIT), constituted following a High Court order, to conclude probe into the case.

The multi-crore rupees professional examination scam, involves several high-profile professionals, politicians and bureaucrats as accused.

The alleged scam involves Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPEB), which holds examinations for various posts such as teachers, medical officers, constables and forest guards.

Over 46 people allegedly associated with the admission and recruitment scam in Vyapam have died since 2013 in mysterious circumstances.

The most high-profile death in connected with the case has been that of Shailesh Yadav, son of Madhya Pradesh Governor Ram Naresh Yadav. Shailesh (50) was found dead at his father's residence in Mall Avenue area of Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow on March 25, 2015.

Recently, on June 4, a television journalist Akshay Singh, in Madhya Pradesh, suddenly fall ill and died while interviewing parents of a girl who had been found dead near railway tracks, after her name figured in the Vyapam scam. The next day, a college dean from the state helping in the investigation was found dead in a hotel room in Delhi.

On Monday, a woman police trainee recruited through Vyapam was found dead in Sagar district.

And a Madhya Pradesh police constable, who committed suicide also on Monday, was being questioned by a team probing the scam, reports said.

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News Network
March 23,2020

New Delhi, Mar 23: The total number of COVID-19 cases in the country rose to 390 on Monday after 30 fresh cases were reported.

The figure includes 41 foreign nationals and the seven deaths reported so far.

Gujarat, Bihar and Maharahstra reported a death each on Sunday, while four fatalities were reported earlier from Karnataka, Delhi, Maharashtra and Punjab, the Union Health Ministry said.

The total number of active COVID-19 cases across the country now stands at 359, while 24 people have been cured/discharged/migrated.

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News Network
June 21,2020

New Delhi, June 21: India today recorded the highest single-day spike in infections so far with 15,413 new cases reported in the last 24 hours. The total number of positive cases in India touched 4.11 lakh on Sunday.

As per the Ministry of Health data, the total number of coronavirus cases stands at 4,10,461 cases which include 1,69,451 active cases, 2,27,756 recovered/migrated cases, and 13,254 deaths as per the Ministry of Health data.

With 1,28,205 confirmed cases of COVID-19 so far, Maharashtra remains the worst-affected state in the country, followed by Tamil Nadu with 56,845 and Delhi 56,746. 

Delhi reported its highest single-day increase of 3,630 new coronavirus cases. With this, the state’s tally rose to 56,746. The toll rose to 2,112 with 77 deaths. As many as 7,725 people recovered, taking the total recoveries to 31,294.

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Agencies
January 20,2020

New Delhi, Jan 20: The BJP has got a brand new President in the form of JP Nadda. At around 2.30 pm, the announcement was made, bringing an end to the Amit Shah era in BJP. The party's Working President Jagat Prakash Nadda won unopposed, sparking celebrations outside the BJP headquarters here on Monday. 

Amit Shah himself was among the people who proposed Nadda's name along with Nitin Gadkari and Rajnath Singh. Soon after his annointment, BJP election returning officer Radha Mohan Singh told the media, "I announce JP Nadda as the new BJP President." Shah was also seen hugging Nadda.

The nomination process for the post of the BJP President began at 10 am and went on till 12.30 pm. For the next hour, the filed nomination paper, which was just one, was examined. Party members waitied till 2.30 pm for the candidate to withdraw if he wished to. It was after this that Nadda was declared as the man who would step into the shoes of Amit Shah.

Many in the BJP believe that although Nadda is the BJP chief now, Shah would still make all macro-level decisions like pre poll alliances or top organisational appointments. Nadda would be in charge of monitoring the day-to-day needs of the organisation. BJP sources say that Amit Shah himself wanted an arrangement like this one and personally wanted Nadda to take over. as he helped Shah formulate legislations like Triple Talaq and Citizenship Amendment Act.

The party constitution mandates completion of election of at least 50 per cent of state Presidents for the election of national President to happen. In the last few days, the BJP has completed the election of a slew of state Presidents like in West Bengal, Nagaland among others.

The process of election of the national BJP President is quite elaborate and has been described in detail in the party constitution, which says that the national president shall be elected by an electoral college, comprising members of the national council and the state councils.

"Any 20 members of the electoral college of a state can jointly propose the name of a person, who has been an active member for four terms and has 15 years of membership, for the post of national president. Such joint proposal should come from not less than five states where elections have been completed for the national council. The consent of the candidate is necessary," it says.

Who is JP Nadda?

Jagat Prakash Nadda, 59, who has his roots in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its affiliates, was appointed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national President on Monday, replacing his 'mentor' and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Former environment, health and law minister from Himachal Pradesh, which has just four of the Lok Sabha's 543 seats, Nadda has tried to carve out his own space in national politics with his low profile and astute organisational skills, believe his party leaders.

He rose through the ranks from the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the RSS, from where he has managed to build inroads from university to the state politics.

Nadda has been active on the national political scene since 2010 when he was picked by then BJP chief Nitin Gadkari to join his new team. He was made the party's national general secretary.

Born on December 2, 1960, Nadda did his graduation from Patna and holds a post-graduate degree in political science and Bachelor of Legislative Law (LL.B) from Himachal Pradesh University in Shimla.

Starting his political career as a student leader of the ABVP in 1978, Nadda had also worked both with Gadkari and Shah even in the party's youth wing -- the Bharatiya Yuva Morcha -- from 1991 to 1994.

His wife Mallika Nadda, who teaches history at the Himachal Pradesh University and is currently posted in university's campus in Delhi, was an ABVP activist too, and its national general secretary from 1988 to 1999.

In the previous BJP government (2007-12) in the state, Nadda was forced to resign as Forest Minister in 2010 owing to differences between him and then chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal.

He was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2012.

Nadda won his first Assembly election from Bilaspur (Sadar) in Himachal in 1993. In 1998, he again won from that seat and became the state Health Minister.

He lost the Assembly elections in 2003, but again won in 2007 and was appointed the Forest Minister in the Himachal Pradesh.

Nadda, as a forest minister, was the brain behind opening forest police stations to check forest crimes, launching community-driven plantation, setting up forest ponds and the massive plantation of deodars to boost the depleting green cover of the 'Queen of Hills', as Shimla was fondly called by the British.

A close confidant of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Nadda was among those who were mentioned as likely aspirants to the BJP top post after Rajnath Singh was inducted into the Central government as the Home Minister in 2014.

Later, Nadda was inducted into the union cabinet in its first expansion in 2014 as the Health Minister.

Hailing Nadda's appointment, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur told IANS it is a proud moment that a leader belonging to a small state in the national politics is today the leader of the country's biggest national party.

His father N.L. Nadda, who was a Vice-Chancellor of the Ranchi University, resides in Bilaspur town.

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