File Photo: Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who is under siege from opposition Congress over the Vyapam scam, got a strong backing from Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley who hailed him for his "unblemished" credibility.
"In Shivraj Singh Chouhan we have got a leader whose biggest quality is his credibility. If a leader has such a high credibility it usually perturbs opposition. As a result of which the opposition Congress is evelling false and baseless allegations against Chouhan," Mr Jaitley said at the inaugural session of the two day executive meeting of state BJP.
He was, apparently, referring to the Congress' allegations that Mr Chouhan and his wife are involved in the multi-crore State Examination Board or Vyapam scam.
While Congress has been demanding a CBI probe, Mr Chouhan has already denied the allegations. A Special Task Force (STF) is currently investigating the scam, which is monitored by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up by the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
In his address, the Finance Minister praised Mr Chouhan for his leadership, saying Madhya Pradesh liberated itself from the tag of 'Bimaru' states and has registered an agricultural growth rate of over 20 per cent which is "highly remarkable" in the country.
Madhya Pradesh government's model of empowering people socio-economically has helped in improving overall situation of the state to a great extent, the Finance Minister said.
Mr Jaitley said Madhya Pradesh became a revenue surplus state after 2003 when it dislodged Congress from power. He also commended development of roads and work done by state government on fronts of water and power.