Madhya Pradesh Governor Ram Naresh Yadav is under pressure to resign after he was named on Tuesday in a recruitment scam. Appointed by the previous UPA administration in 2011, Yadav is perhaps the first state governor to be booked in a cheating case.

The scam relates to the state’s Professional Examination Board, which is responsible for conducting tests for admission into the state’s medical colleges and for recruitment to government departments.

The police investigation has implicated officials and politicians, with the special task force naming Yadav in a first information report (FIR), alleging that he was involved in irregularities in the recruitment of forest guards.

According to Jagran Post, the governor had allegedly recommended the names of five candidates for recruitment as forest guards to the top officials of MPPEB that conducted the examination.

Yadav’s son Shailesh has already been named in a chargesheet filed on February 9.

Government sources said that Home Minister Rajnath Singh asked the governor to step down within hours of being named in the FIR, according to the Indian Express.

“We were waiting for a report from the state government on the status of the FIR. When the minister was convinced that he (Yadav) had been named in the case, it was decided to give him a dignified exit. We decided not to take any harsh decision but in the wake of this corruption case, we gave him the option of resigning,” said a senior government official on condition of anonymity.

Yadav has arrived in Delhi – he had reportedly said that he would quit only after meeting President Pranab Mukherjee. He is also expected to meet Congress party president Sonia Gandhi.

Meanwhile, the three whistle-blowers who helped the police unravel the multi-billion-rupee exam and recruitment scam in Madhya Pradesh have said that their lives are in danger and that they need the protection of central security agents.

According to Scroll.in, doctor Anand Rai, computer security expert Prashant Pandey and right-to-information (RTI) activist Ashish Chaturvedi say they have lost faith in the state police, whom they claim are trying to frame them.

State home minister Babulal Gaur promised to ensure their full security.

“If any of the whistle-blowers has any problems with the police, they should come to me,” Gaur told Scroll.in. “Mr Rai had come to me I would have increased his security. If Ashish is being tortured by the guards we have provided him, he should come to me. I will appoint others in their place.”

- Karan Singh

To Learn More:

Madhya Pradesh exam scam: Governor named in FIR, Centre asks him to step down (by Milind Ghatwai and Vijaita Singh, Indian Express)

MP Governor may meet President over his alleged involvement in MPPEB scam (Jagran Post)

Meet the whistleblowers who shook Madhya Pradesh, and now fear for their lives (by Rakesh Dixit, Scroll.in)