Karnataka Congress was hit by cash-for-ticket charge in 2008 polls too

Bengaluru, Mar 17: The latest allegation of cash-for-ticket is not the first such the Congress is facing during the Karnataka Assembly elections. During the distribution of tickets for the Assembly elections in 2008, senior leader Margaret Alva had made similar allegations.

Margret, then an AICC general secretary, reportedly made the charges against the party leadership for denying the ticket for her son Nivedith Alva to contest from Khanapur Assembly segment. She had accused the party top brass of selling the party ticket.

While the party top brass dismissed her allegations, she had said that the media had quoted her out of context.

However, Siddaramaiah had almost endorsed Margret's allegation, saying: "This is a serious charge and the party should look into it seriously."

Former chief minister M Veerappa Moily's tweet on Thursday, which he has disowned, is said to be due to some leaders opposing the Congress ticket to his son from Karkala.

Admitting that several senior leaders of the party were demanding the tickets for their kin, KPCC chief G Parameshwara said, "nothing wrong in giving a ticket to children of senior leaders. But, certain parameters will be adopted."

With over a dozen senior leaders demanding the tickets for their kin, the party top brass is finding it difficult to handle the issue, said a senior leader.

Meanwhile, Science and Technology Minister M R Seetharam said Moily should not have made such statements.