REET scam: R'than Minister assures Oppn of impartial probe

Jaipur, Feb 14 Amid the Opposition seeking a CBI probe into the Rajasthan Eligibility Entrance Test (REET) scam, Rajasthan Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shanti Kumar Dhariwal on Monday said the Special Operation Group (SOC) is capable of conducting an impartial probe.

"The Opposition should have full faith in its investigation," the Minister said, while replying on behalf of the Home Minister at a special discussion on the REET scam in the Assembly.

He said the Opposition has not given any such fact that proves that the probe of SOG is going into the wrong direction.

"If the SOG is not investigating properly, then only the demand of the opposition would have been justified," Dhariwal said.

He told the Assembly that the Opposition wants an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the REET case so that "the CBI comes here and seals the Board Office, Strong Room etc. and goes back to Delhi and the entire recruitment process is stopped".

Dhariwal said that when the Opposition was in power, then too, the paper leak cases were given to the SOG.

"When 25 cases of the paper leak were lodged during the time of opposition, then why did they give the investigation to SOG and not to CBI?"

The cases of RAS-2014, RJS-2014, LDC-2014 and seven examinations of the University of Rajasthan were given to SOG.

There was a deadlock in Assembly after a two-hour debate on REET scam as the BJP MLAs moved towards the Well after Shanti Dhariwal's reply.

Following the uproar, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators boycotted the proceedings of for the day.

After Dhariwal rejected the CBI inquiry demand, the BJP legislators objected. After his reply, Deputy Leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathod said that the Parliamentary Affairs Minister was "misleading".

Later, the BJP MLAs came to the Well demanding a CBI probe and started raising slogans.

On Tuesday evening, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot will reply to the debate on the Governor's address.

In his reply, Gehlot will answer the issue raised by BJP regarding REET.