After Raje, Congress trains guns on Shivraj Chouhan

After Vasundhara Raje, the Congress on Friday trained its guns on Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

Senior Congress leaders approached the Election Commission accusing Chouhan of violating the model code of conduct enforced in the state for the bypoll to the Garoth Assembly constituency.

At the same time, the main opposition party kept up the attack on Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and accused her of striking “quid pro quo” deals with former IPL boss Lalit Modi for setting up a cancer institute in Rajasthan.

AICC general secretaries Digvijay Singh and Mohan Prakash met Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi with a memorandum against Chouhan accusing him of inducing a local BJP leader for mustering his support in Saturday’s byelection.

Congress leaders also submitted a audio CD containing purported conversation between BJP leader Rajesh Choudhary and Chouhan. The Congress accused Chouhan of “alluring” Chaudhary to “seek vote from a particular community” in favour of the BJP candidate for which he would be “suitably rewarded”.

Stepping up attack on Raje, AICC general secretary C P Joshi claimed the Rajasthan government had flouted all rules to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Champalimaud Foundation of Portugal.

Joshi said after the affidavit by Raje in favour of Lalit Modi to stay in the UK away from the reach of Indian authorities and law, it was now apparent that she “blatantly violated” the Government Financial Rules (GFR), Codal Formalities and all laid down procedures of financial, tendering and administrative propriety to help the Portuguese medical facility that was treating Lalit Modi’s wife.

Another AICC spokesman Ajoy Kumar accused Raje of having “direct financial dealings” with Lalit Modi, “an absconder facing charges of Rs 1,700 crore fraud by the Enforcement Directorate”.
Citing Raje’s affidavit filed with the Election Commission during the 2013 Assembly elections, he said the document showed that she owned 3,280 shares in Niyant Heritage Hotel.

Demanding Raje’s resignation, Kumar said the Election Commission affidavit “shows proof of their (Lalit Modi and Vasundhara Raje) links and Vasundhara Raje has no right to sit even for one day in the chief minister's seat.”

“We have presented a mountain of evidence and we are wondering if not now, when would the BJP take action,” Kumar said.