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Unprecedented: MP Assembly question on Vyapam scam goes 'missing', then changed

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Madhya Pradesh  state assembly  Vyapam  question  medical admission  NRI quota

Special Correspondent

NewsBits.in

Bhopal: In an unprecedented incident, a legislator's question on Vyapam scam first went missing from the MP state assembly proceedings.

When it appeared three days later, it format had changed significantly, something that political watchers are terming as unprecedented in state. However, the reply on the important query is not yet forthcoming.

The Congress MLA from Sheopur, Ramniwas Rawat, says that he is shocked and hurt that his question was changed.

"I am particularly hurt because the state assembly is a platform to put a check on corruption and we have lot of expectations from the house," he told NewsBits.in.

Rawat had asked (through online process) a three-part question on admission in private medical colleges under the NRI quota in the period 2009-2015. The question asked names of all students, who got admission in this quota, along with their intermediate mark-sheets and father's names.

Also, he had specifically asked on what grounds two students Utkarsh Lunawat and Jaiprakash Dubey who got admission in Chirayu Medical College in 2015. The question raised doubts over the admission process. There is suspicion that candidates who didn't fulfil the criterion were given admission due to their high-profile links.

By rule, Rawat's question should have appeared as parts of proceedings on July 25. But it was missing.

A shocked Rawat took up the matter in the house vocally, forcing the Speaker Sitasharan Sharma to assure him that he would get reply of the question on July 28. The Speaker told the MLA that the question had been missed because of confusion in departments.

But more was shock was in store for Rawat. When the question appeared on July 28, it was significantly changed, particularly with the name of specific colleges and candidates missing. Rawat protested and has written to the assembly secretariat again. "How could this happen? They changed my question", he said in the letter.

Sources said that Rawat had been beforehand told by some people that his question would not appear in proceedings as the matter involved admissions of kin of minsiters, IAS officers and even member of judiciary. This point has also been taken up by Vyapam whistleblower and ex-MLA Paras Sakhlecha.