Opposing views within Cong on poll tickets to 'tainted'

Congress was today ambivalent on the issue of giving tickets to leaders facing corruption cases with one section warning that fielding such "tainted" candidates would cost the party in a big way.
At a time when Rahul Gandhi is seeking to make corruption a big issue in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, there is also the view within the party that some basic criteria should be followed to ensure that leaders do not lose out on tickets due to political vendetta.
Congress, which came out with its first list of 194 candidates on Saturday, has not made any announcement regarding the fate of former Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal and his Chandigarh seat or about fielding former Chairman of the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee Suresh Kalmadi and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan.

"You have the liberty to speculate. We do not have that liberty. Let a decision on those seats first come. I will respond then. I am not here to speculate.
"Why should I answer all these questions. On the day the candidate for Chandigarh is announced, I will answer these," party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi told reporters at an AICC briefing here.
Meanwhile, a senior leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that clarity was needed on the issue.

"The question is how we define the word tainted. Simply because somebody lodges an FIR against somebody, you cannot deny ticket to a leader. There has to be some uniform rule for it within the party.

"There should be some minimum criteria like submission of a charge sheet or framing of charges by court before we decide not to field a particular leader in the elections," the senior leader said.
Asked whether there is a debate within the party over the issue, the leader said that the matter was definitely on the minds of party leaders, which was evident from Congress not having declared their names.
The remarks came on a day when a Special CBI court today framed charges of criminal conspiracy and corruption against Bansal's nephew Vijay Singla and nine others who were arrested in the Rs 10-crore cash-for-post railway bribery case.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari, who is reportedly eyeing the Chandigarh seat, has said that the party should not get into legalities and instead "not give tickets to those who are facing even allegations of corruption".