Vyapam scam: Unfair to demand PM Narendra Modi's statement on every silly issue, says Gowda

New Delhi: As the Opposition continues to demand Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement on the Vyapam scam, which has shook the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in Madhya Pradesh, Union Law Minister Sadananda Gowda on Tuesday said that the PM need not answer on silly issues.

While speaking to news agency ANI, Gowda said that concerned ministers and the party president have answered on the Vyapam scam and asking for the PM's reply on each "silly" issue is unfair.

Gowda's statement is sure to give fresh ammo to the Opposition, which has been trying its level best to keep up the pressure on the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government over the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB) scam.

The central government had on Monday rejected calls for a CBI probe into the Vyapam scam.

The Congress, the AAP and the CPI-M, meanwhile, stepped up attacks on the central and Madhya Pradesh governments over the rising number of deaths in the recruitment scandal.

They demanded a CBI probe, but union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said there was no need for a CBI inquiry as the Special Investigation Team probing the scam reported to the Madhya Pradesh High Court, and not the state government.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear on July 9 a petition filed by senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh seeking a court-monitored CBI probe into Madhya Pradesh’s multi-crore Vyapam scam, in which more than two dozen accused and witnesses have died under mysterious circumstances.

Singh had earlier alleged complicity of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in the MPPEB scam.

More than 40 people associated with the admission and recruitment racket in Vyapam have died since 2013 -- either in mysterious circumstances or have committed suicide.

The admission and recruitment racket apparently involves politicians, officials and businessmen.