Sting on Congress candidate in Jaipur

A sting by a private TV channel on Congress candidate Jyoti Khandelwal fielded from Jaipur parliamentary constituency has put the party in a spot as the purported video clip showed her "promising" a tender to a contractor if elected as an MP.

She allegedly made the offer to a person in the purported video after being "offered" Rs 5 crore.

Khandelwal has dismissed the allegation, calling the video as fake. "There is no authenticity of the video and it has been released to defame me," she told IANS.

In the sting video, a person posing as a contractor is heard talking to Khandelwal and her husband Sharad Khandelwal. The contractor offers Rs 5 crore "in exchange for the contracts" to be given to him under the MPLAD fund once Khandelwal is elected to Parliament.

Sources said the party leadership has called Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot to Delhi on Saturday.

Pratap Khachriyawas, a state minister, on Sunday accused the BJP of playing dirty politics and said that Khandelwal will contest election and that the candidate would not be changed.

Meanwhile, state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Anand Kumar has directed the police to initiate a thorough probe into the matter. A forensic analysis of the video is also being conducted by the police.

The Congress has fielded a woman candidate from the Jaipur seat after 45 years against the BJP's Ramcharan Bohra.

--IANS

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