Anan Rai, who first blew the whistle on the Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh under Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has expressed his shock on being denied a ticket by the Congress in the upcoming assembly polls.
He was quoted as saying that Congress President Rahul Gandhi had assured him a ticket in the assembly polls. Rai was quoted by news agency ANI, “It was only because of me that the Congress’s Sanjeev Saxena (another Vyapam accused) was not given a ticket.” Rai, a doctor by profession, had first approached the Madhya Pradesh High Court to allege that candidates in the state bribed government officials to clear the test, without taking the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board or Vyapam.
He also took to Twitter to express his frustration on being denied ticket for 28 November assembly polls. He wrote, “There is a word beyond stars. My fight will continue.”
After the Congress announced its final list, it emerged that none of its senior leaders including Kamal Nath, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Digvijay Singh will be contesting this year’s elections. Rai said that even though he was sad on not finding his name in the list of candidates, he had decided to fight for bigger issues for now.
The final list of the Congress also included name of Sanjay Singh, brother-in-law of Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The state, which has been governed by the BJP for the last 15 years, has 230 seats