Why is Shivraj running away from scam allegations, asks Cong

Leader of Opposition in Madhya Pradesh assembly Ajay Singh has dared the state Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for a debate on the charges leveled against his government by Congress.

"If the charges levelled against the Chouhan government were a bundle of lies as alleged by the ruling BJP, then why did the chief minister run from a discussion on the no confidence motion in the state assembly earlier this year," Singh said in a statement issued in Bhopal on Tuesday.

On November 10, Singh had released a "charge sheet" against the BJP government, which claimed that during the last five years of BJP rule, there were scams to the tune of Rs 1,46,000 crore.

The chief minister had made several announcements, but most of them remained only on paper, it alleged.

"The annual report of the Lokayukta has also not been tabled in Madhya Pradesh assembly since 2008," Singh said adding, "If the reports were tabled, the BJP would not appear as clean as it wants to look."

He said Chouhan may have got a clean chit from the court in the dumper scam but still there are many unanswered questions relating to it.

There were allegations against Chouhan that he had misused his official position to rent out dumper trucks to an industrial house as a quid pro quo for allotting a mining lease.

Image: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan