Pious politics claims bite dust as tainted leaders get tickets

Keeping aside claims of ‘pious politics’, the Congress high command gave tickets to tainted leaders including ex-ministers who were dropped following corruption charges in Gehlot government. Interestingly, the tainted leaders had lost badly in the recent Assembly elections.

Pramod Jain Bhaya, former PWD minister, has been fielded from Jhalawar-Baran. The leader, close to ex-CM Gehlot, was under fire for corruption charges in contracts and work tenders of the department. After the controversy, Gehlot, in a major reshuffling, had dropped him from the cabinet.

In Assembly elections, he was fielded from Bara-Anta seat, but lost badly to the current agriculture minister Prabhu Lal Saini.

The party has fielded another ‘tainted’ former education minister Master Bhanwar Lal Meghwal from Ganganagar seat, which is reserved for SC (Scheduled Caste) candidate. Meghwal was dropped from Gehlot government for being involved in several public controversies.

He was constantly at loggerheads with teachers and was accused of using abusive language at public platforms.

Interestingly, the party has placed its bet on the leader although he had lost the Assembly elections from Sujangarh.

Meghwal is a strong SC community leader from Churu, but has shifted to Ganganagar.

Another tainted leader is former MLA Udailal Anjana who has got the party ticket from Jalore seat.

The leader was booked for allegedly sexually exploiting a nearly 50-year-old woman since 1984 on the pretext of marriage and forcing her to undergo abortion, the charges which he had denied. The probe against him is on.

AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi, in his speeches, always laid stressed on pious politics and advocated fielding candidates with clean image.