NEW DELHI: After receiving huge backlash, the Congress on Sunday replaced its Jaipur candidate Sunil Sharma with former Rajasthan minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas. The party backtracked on Sharma’s candidature a day after Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and several other leaders came down heavily on the candidate, who is allegedly linked with a Right-leaning digital platform, ‘Jaipur Dialogues’.
Since the party announced Sharma’s name for Jaipur, several social media users flagged his association with ‘Jaipur Dialogues’, which is extremely critical of the Congress party.
Many pointed out that Sharma serves as a director for Jaipur Dialogues. Several Social media users were perplexed over the Congress’ decision to give Sharma a ticket as the channel is known for its anti-minority views. However, Sharma has dismissed the claims saying that while he has attended some panel discussions hosted by the platform, he has no link with them.
“I was never associated with the management of Jaipur Dialogues YouTube channel. I am often invited by TV channels and YouTube platforms as a panelist to articulate the Congress perspective. In the same way, the Jaipur Dialogues invited me to speak on social issues and elaborate the Congress vision. There I strongly opposed religious bigotry,” he said in a statement in Hindi, posted on X. Sharma also claimed that he parted ways with the company long ago and the allegations are being spread with vested interests.
“I have long ago severed my ties with the directorship of Jaipur Dialogue Forum (which has nothing to do with the ownership of YouTube) about which some people, due to their vested interests, are spreading rumours,” he wrote on X.
As the candidature of Sharma stoked a row, Tharoor shared on X an old tweet of the candidate mocking him and Rahul Gandhi. “He must have undergone some sort of Pauline epiphany on the road to 24 Akbar! This is just one of several dozen tweets from his handle attacking me,” said Tharoor.
Sharma’s name was announced by the Congress in its third list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. After the party announced his name, Sharma said that people of Jaipur are eager to bring change in the impending elections. “Jaipur has not been able to secure its place among the top 25 clean cities in the country, which is quite painful. If Jaipur continues like this, it will not remain liveable, hence the people of Jaipur want a change. And I believe that this election will be an election of momentous change,” he told the media.