Sachin Pilot backs Cong leader's Rajya Sabha candidature

Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot on Tuesday defended the Rajya Sabha candidature of Congress general secretary K C Venugopal from the state, a day after the BJP reportedly alleged that the leader was facing rape charges.

BJP state president Satish Poonia on Monday had reportedly accused Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot of sending Venugopal to the Rajya Sabha from the state to save his chair and alleged that the Congress candidate had a rape case registered against him.

Responding to the allegations, Pilot in a statement said it was the "BJP's tendency to make false allegations for political gains ahead of every election".

He said the lawsuit against which BJP leaders are campaigning was lodged against Kerala's former CM Oommen Chandy, Venugopal and 22 other leaders as part of a conspiracy to oust the United Democratic Front government.

Pilot said the "so-called allegations" were levelled in 2011 and the FIR was registered in this case only in 2018.

But due to a lack of any truthful evidence, no action has been taken on the complaint till date, Pilot said.

He said despite the allegations, Venugopal had won the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from the Alappuzha Lok Sabha constituency by a huge margin, which shows the unwavering faith of the people of the area in the leader.