An FIR was today filed against Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh, former Speaker of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly Sriniwas Tiwari and 17 others in connection with their appointment to the legislature secretariat during the Congress regime.

Deputy secretary of the state Assembly Shyamlal Maithil filed the FIR at Jehangirabad police station here.

Principal secretary of the Assembly Bhagwandev Israni said that initially it had named the 17 personnel but later the government added Singh's and Tiwari's names.

The FIR was filed under sections 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery for cheating) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code on the recommendations of Justice (retd) Sachindra Dwivedi committee, which found these appointments as illegal and recommended dismissal of these 17 persons, a senior official said.

The BJP government led by the current home minister Babulal Gaur had set up the committee in 2004-05 to probe the appointments made during the Congress regime from 1993-2003 when Singh was the Chief Minister and Tiwari the Speaker. Its report was submitted in 2006.

The state government then recommended a CBI probe but the Central agency declined to take over saying that state agencies were competent enough for the job.

The 17 employees include former principal secretary of Vidhan Sabha Dr A K Payasi, who had joined as a chief municipal officer and was later deputed to the Assembly. He was then transferred to the Assembly and went on to become the principal secretary.

Incidentally, today is Digvijay Singh's birth day. Singh had recently accused Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and his wife of being involved in the MP Professional Board Examination (MPPBE) scam.

Madhya Pradesh Congress's chief spokesperson K K Mishra termed the FIR as an "act of revenge" against Singh.

Congress would not be cowed down by such tactics, Mishra said.

Earlier, when Congress raised the MPPEB scam during the Assembly's budget session this year which was adjourned sine die abruptly, parliamentary affairs minister Narottam Mishra had said the government would also probe the appointments made during the Congress regime.

Digvijay Singh could not be contacted for comment.