Bhopal, Mar 19 (PTI) The Congress on Thursday alleged corruption in the tenders issued between 2023 and 2025 by the Madhya Pradesh School Education Department and the Board of Secondary Education, and demanded a Special Investigation Team to probe the matter.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dismissed the allegations, calling them baseless.
Speaking to reporters, Congress spokesperson Mukesh Nayak said that in 2023, during the tenure of then chairperson Veera Rana, the Board of Secondary Education issued a tender for the purchase of 3,500 computers, UPS, and printers. The cost was allegedly inflated from Rs 40 crore to Rs 90 crore.
Further, technical conditions were added to the tender to limit competition, he claimed, adding that the equipment was purchased at prices “200 to 250 percent higher than market prices.” A complaint was lodged, but the lack of concrete action so far indicates an attempt to suppress the matter, the senior Congress leader alleged.
Competition was also limited by addition of technical conditions when tenders for interactive boards were issued in 2025, Nayak claimed.
Equipment worth Rs 60,000 to 70,000 apiece was purchased at prices exceeding Rs 1.10 lakh, he said, further alleging that similar irregularities are likely to be repeated in ongoing tender processes.
Under the BJP government, a tender process is merely a formality and it is already decided who should get a contract, he said.
Responding to the allegations, BJP spokesperson Pankaj Chaturvedi told PTI-Bhasha that opposition leaders do nothing besides making baseless claims.
Since the time the Congress has been in opposition, it has not been able to make a single allegation with substance or authenticity and only seeks to create controversies, he added. PTI BNS MAS KRK
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