Bhopal, April 15 (NationPress) Senior Congress figure and former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Kamal Nath, expressed serious concerns on Wednesday regarding alleged irregularities in the state's scholarship programs.

His remarks followed a court's dismissal of closure reports in several cases associated with the misappropriation of scholarships.

In his statement, Kamal Nath highlighted that the rejection of closure reports in 34 cases signifies “significant deficiencies in the investigation process,” demanding a transparent inquiry to ensure accountability. He remarked, "The court’s comments clearly imply that essential evidence was not gathered. This raises serious questions regarding the handling of these cases."

The allegations revolve around irregularities in scholarship schemes, where students reportedly gained admission to multiple colleges at once to exploit benefits. Institutions and nodal bodies implicated in the process were also named as accused.

In the past three and a half months, the Lokayukta submitted closure reports for all 34 cases, but the court dismissed each one, citing inadequate investigation and lack of solid evidence.

Furthermore, on April 13, the court dismissed a closure report concerning a separate bribery case involving a former Additional Commissioner of a Municipal Corporation. The court noted that key documents from the involved institutions were not collected by the investigative agency.

These documents included attendance logs, student enrollment records across various courses, examination attendance lists, and result sheets.

The court underscored that despite clear directives in the official case file to gather such evidence, the Lokayukta did not appropriately comply. Consequently, the existing evidence could not convincingly prove whether the students were genuinely enrolled and attending both institutions concurrently.

Moreover, the court observed that records related to the distribution of scholarships were not thoroughly scrutinized, further undermining the investigation.

Kamal Nath emphasized that such deficiencies not only compromise the integrity of the investigation but also raise alarms about the misuse of public funds intended for deserving students.

“Scholarship programs are meant to assist the underprivileged. Any malpractice or negligence in investigating these issues is intolerable,” he stated. He urged the state administration to heed the court’s remarks and ensure a fair and exhaustive reinvestigation into the cases.