Overview

• Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on July 26 called for a CBI-led special investigation team under High Court oversight to probe an alleged ₹2.1 lakh crore scheme in Madhya Pradesh
• He alleges Internal Control System clusters fraudulently enrolled about 12 lakh farmers to secure transaction certificates for selling conventional cotton at premium organic rates
• The purported scam deprived genuine growers of subsidies and fair prices and prompted GOTS, the US Department of Agriculture and the EU to revoke recognition of Indian certifiers
• On July 27 the Commerce Ministry labelled the claims unfounded and said APEDA maintains strict enforcement of organic certification standards
• Neither the Madhya Pradesh government nor the central authorities have initiated the court-supervised inquiry sought by the opposition