CPI(M) Questions Rs 250 Crore Graft Figure in MP Urban Bodies Scam

Bhopal: The Marxist Communist Party has questioned the official estimate of corruption in urban local bodies in Madhya Pradesh, calling it implausible and alleging that powerful political interests are protecting those involved.

The controversy erupted after a senior officer, holding Additional Chief Secretary rank, gave details of procurement irregularities at a programme for urban body officials. A video of his address went viral online, prompting the state government to take action against several officials.

Jasvinder Singh, State Secretary of the Marxist Communist Party, said in a statement that the leaked video, which he linked to internal conflict within the BJP, was now being hushed up. He noted that the officer had earlier warned that such malpractice would not be excused from the next year. The officer has since said that 139 people faced action but that their names could not be made public in view of their social respect.

Singh drew a sharp comparison between the state's treatment of ordinary people and of those accused of graft. He said the BJP government pastes notices on the homes of respectable citizens, attaches their goods over unpaid electricity bills and runs bulldozers over the homes of the poor for petty offences. In his view, its concern for the social dignity of corrupt individuals made clear whose government it was.

The central point of his criticism was the Rs 250 crore figure. Singh cited procurement examples in which a Rs 5 phenyl was bought for Rs 33,000, a Rs 350 LED for Rs 11,500 and a Rs 2 lakh garbage vehicle for Rs 6 lakh. If purchases worth Rs 11,000 crore were made at such rates, he asked, how could the loss be confined to Rs 250 crore?

He added that the silence of the Chief Minister, the concerned minister and the BJP on the case was itself a cause for suspicion. According to Singh, the corruption had drawn in not only bureaucrats but also BJP leaders and ministers.

The Marxist Communist Party has demanded that all evidence of the corruption be made public, along with the names of those against whom action has been taken.