New Delhi: “Shivraj Sarkar ka matlab hi 50% commission hain.” (The Shivraj Singh Chouhan government is synonymous with 50% commission). Printed in saffron font, this one-line indictment of the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh was part of the preface to a document released by its rival Congress, listing the incumbent’s alleged scams in its 18 years in power. With a copy of this placard in hand, the Congress’s chief minister candidate Kamal Nath in August released an Aarop Patra (chargesheet) of alleged corruption and scams under the Chouhan government. The document was titled “Ghotala hi Ghotala–Ghotala seth, 50% commission rate,” a direct dig at Chouhan, who is described as ‘Lootera Mama’.
Standing alongside Nath at the release was a wavy-haired man with a geeky appearance who has often been at the forefront of the fight against corruption in the state: Paras Saklecha. He played a significant role in drafting the Congress’s ‘chargesheet’ against Chouhan, one that has underlined corruption as a major point of attack in the party’s campaign against the BJP.
A mathematics tutor-cum-politician, Saklecha is a former independent MLA. He joined the Congress in 2018, months before the state voted that year. In the 2023 assembly election, the Congress has fielded him from Ratlam, a constituency in the Malwa region. Saklecha, fondly referred to as dada (elder brother) by students, argues that corruption was among the top three issues that count go against the Chouhan government in the November 17 election.
“They will face heavy losses due to their corruption, which has increased at all levels. There is corruption everywhere in the state, whether you have to get any enrolment done or want an Ayushman Bharat card or BPL coupon made. The administration is unrestrained,” he said.
Talking to The Wire, Saklecha alleged that an overwhelmingly high number of alleged corruption scams in MP had taken place in welfare schemes for the poor.
“They were supposed to bolster the financial condition of the poor. But that did not happen. Instead, the mafia swallowed all the funds,” he said.
The Congress’s Aarop Patra mentions over 225 “scams” under the Chouhan government, including charges of direct financial irregularities along with instances of misgovernance and mismanagement.
At the top of the list is the alleged Poshan Ahar ‘scam’ related to the supplementary nutrition scheme run by the government’s Women and Child Development Department. Citing a report by the Accountant General, the Congress has said that vehicles mentioned as trucks meant to distribute ration under the scheme, were found to be motorcycles, autos and tractors. The Congress also alleged that 11,000 metric tonnes of take-home ration was distributed to beneficiaries only on paper.
Also featured in the Congress chargesheet is the alleged irregularity in the recruitment of contractual nursing staff under the National Health Mission. The recruitment process of the scheme came under the scanner earlier this year after the exam paper was leaked. The exams were held for recruitment on 2,284 posts, for which 45,000 candidates were to appear.
While the embers of the infamous “Vyapam Scam” in Chouhan’s previous terms have gradually died out, fresh allegations in the recruitment process of Patwaris (revenue department staffers) have rocked the government. The matter, labelled the “Patwari Recruitment Scam” by the Congress, came to light after it was found that seven out of the top 10 candidates who had taken the online examination for the recruitment came from the same exam centre in Gwalior, a college run by a BJP MLA. Facing a demand by the Congress for a CBI inquiry, Chouhan in July put a stay on the appointment of the qualified candidates. The Congress chargesheet also includes allegations of irregularities in the state’s mid-day meal scheme, Anganwadi department, distribution of tap water, para medical scholarship, sale of tribal land, illegal mining and the shoddy construction of the Mahakal Lok Corridor in Ujjain, where statues of Saptarishis were damaged due to gusty winds in May.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Photo: Twitter/@ChouhanShivraj
Saklecha says in addition to the long list of corruption charges, the concerning issue of unemployment and the manner in which the BJP overthrew the Congress government through the defection of almost two dozen MLAs in 2020, would play heavily in the minds of the voters.
In 2018, the Congress caused a major upset as it emerged as the largest party in the MP assembly, winning 114 out of 230 seats. Though it fell short of a majority, it formed a government with the support of four independent MLAs, two Bahujan Samaj Party MLAs and one Samajwadi Party MLA. This mandate, read with the huge downward swing in the seat tally of the incumbent BJP from 165 to 109, was an indication that the people voted to overthrow the BJP government after 15 years of its rule, says Saklecha.
“But when the BJP formed the government again through defections, the voters felt cheated. There is huge anger among them regarding this betrayal. That’s why in this election, they will vote against BJP with twice the strength and hurt those who hurt their votes. This is going in favour of the Congress.”
The issue of unemployment linked with the various irregularities in the recruitment process of various jobs has also put the Chouhan government on the back foot from time to time.
While other whistle-blowers gained much of the limelight in highlighting irregularities in the Vyapam Scam in 2014 and 2015, Saklecha was probably the first legislator to raise the subject in the state assembly way back in 2009. He was then an independent MLA.
Over the years, Saklecha has consistently filed RTIs and petitions and dug out key documents regarding the case, which is still being probed by the CBI. In 2015, he even published a 100-page detailed summary of the scam, ‘Vyapamgate,’ details from which were later used by the Congress to level corruption charges against Chouhan.
In 2014, he submitted a 340-page document to the CBI after the agency put out an advertisement asking the public who had complaints regarding the Vyapam recruitment scam to send documents and letters. However, nine years later, the scrutiny of his documents is still on, says Saklecha, who recently approached the Madhya Pradesh high court seeking information about the status of the probe.
Given that Saklecha has a sound footing in finances and a record of raising corruption issues inside and outside the assembly, his candidature from Ratlam has drawn interest. The BJP won the Ratlam seat in 2013 and 2018.
Saklecha started out as a bank clerk, parallelly coaching students preparing for railways and bank exams. A gold medal winner in physics and a brilliant mathematician—his formulas are taught in the Hindi belt—Saklecha is also a poet and writer. In 1999, he was elected as the mayor of Ratlam, a result of his popularity for running free coaching centres for students. In 2003, he contested the assembly election for the first time but lost in a close fight to the BJP’s Himmat Kothari, who would go on to become the state’s home minister. In 2008, Saklecha won his only election. In 2014, he contested the Lok Sabha election as an Aam Aadmi Party candidate from Mandsaur but lost.
