Madhya Pradesh governor Ram Naresh Yadav.
New Delhi: The governor of Madhya Pradesh, Ram Naresh Yadav, has been asked to go by the home ministry after he was named in an FIR or police complaint in connection with a multi-crore exam scam involving politicians and government officials.
Sources say the home ministry asked the governor to resign on Tuesday night, saying his continuing in the position was untenable.
Mr. Yadav, who has been governor since 2011, has been accused of taking money from candidates applying for the position of Forest Guards in 2013. He has been booked for corruption, misuse of his official position and cheating. 70 others have been named in the case.
Sources have told that the 86-year-old used his letterhead to recommend names of candidates.
According to legal experts, the Special Task Force, which booked the Governor, needs presidential sanction to charge sheet him. His son Shailesh Yadav’s involvement is also being examined by the Special Task Force set up to investigate the case.
The opposition Congress had for days demanded Mr. Yadav’s resignation.
Last week, Mr. Yadav was forced to cut short his speech in the state assembly and leave as the opposition lawmakers kept shouting slogans. Congress activists also clashed with the police as they tried to march to the assembly in protest.
The alleged scam involves the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board or Vyapam, which holds exams for positions like medical officers, constables, teachers and auditors for government departments. Candidates allegedly bribed government officials to make it to the list of those who cleared the test, without taking the exam.
Former Technical Education Minister Lakshmi Kant Sharma and four other officials of the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board have also been named. All the five are currently in jail.
(Agencies)
