Tickets for criminals: Nirbhaya Trust slams Cong

Having been denied a Congress ticket for the Bihar Assembly polls, Sarvesh Tiwari, the general secretary of the Nirbhaya Trust, has accused the Congress of ignoring calls to not give tickets to those accused of crimes against women.

In a letter to Sonia Gandhi, he expressed disappointment over the ticket distribution for the 70 seats the party is contesting in the Bihar elections. “The choice of candidates has left much to be desired and there are apparent gross irregularities,” he claimed.

The leadership chose to “ignore” the voices from within, including of Mahila Congress chief Sushmita Dev, that the party should not give tickets to persons facing charges of crimes against women, alleged Tiwari, who was seeking a ticket from Govindganj.

In December 2012, the Nirbhaya Trust was formed by the family of a woman who was brutally gangraped and murdered in Delhi. The trust assists women who have experienced violence to find shelter and legal assistance. The Congress on Thursday released its second list of 49 candidates for the Bihar Assembly elections, fielding Shatrughan Sinha’s son Luv Sinha from Bankipur and Sharad Yadav’s daughter Subhashini Yadav from Bihariganj seats.

The Congress had released its first list of 21 candidates for the Bihar polls starting October 28.

The party is contesting a total of 70 seats as part of the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ in Bihar, with the RJD leading the coalition.

The general secretary of the Nirbhaya Trust wrote to Sonia Gandhi to express disappointment over ticket distribution for 70 seats the Congress party is contesting in the Bihar elections