Two days after the Congress introduced Sunil Sharma as its candidate for the Jaipur Lok Sabha seat, an issue erupted over his candidature after his affiliation with The Jaipur Dialogues, a right-wing organisation recognized for ridiculing Congress and its leaders, got here to gentle.
In its newest checklist of candidates introduced on Thursday, the Congress named Sharma from Jaipur, the place he’s recognized for his and his household’s lengthy affiliation with Congress in addition to for being the Chairman and Chancellor of the non-public Suresh Gyan Vihar College (SGVU) in Jaipur.
Nonetheless, overshadowing this was his affiliation with The Jaipur Dialogues, which identifies itself as a “platform for the proper considering folks”, and was launched in 2016 by the now retired IAS officer Sanjay Dixit.
Quickly, Congress employees and supporters requested the social gathering to rethink its resolution to area Sharma.
Social gathering MP Shashi Tharoor stated, “He should have undergone some type of Pauline epiphany on the street to 24 Akbar! This is only one of a number of dozen tweets from his deal with attacking me.” Tharoor quoted a tweet from the Jaipur Dialogues deal with which had stated that “Shashi Tharoor is simply Rahul Gandhi with a thesaurus he stole from a library on his method out!”
When The Indian Express reached out to Sharma at his residence, Sharma refused to take any questions. Later, he issued a press release claiming that he parted methods with Jaipur Dialogues way back.
“I’ve by no means had something to do with the administration of the Jaipur Dialogue YouTube channel. I’m typically invited on all information channels and YouTube channels as a panellist on constructing an inclusive India as per the Congress philosophy. In the identical sequence, the Jaipur Dialogue YouTube channel had undoubtedly invited me to talk on numerous social points as per the imaginative and prescient of Congress and there too, as per my capability, I’ve advocated the noble traditions of India and have all the time strongly opposed spiritual narrow-mindedness,” he stated.
“I’ve way back severed ties with the directorship of Jaipur Dialogue Discussion board (which has nothing to do with the possession of YouTube) about which some folks, because of their vested pursuits, are spreading rumours,” he claimed. Nonetheless, as not too long ago as November 2023, he was addressing periods organised by The Jaipur Dialogues. On November 5, 2023, he was a panellist on a debate on “Digital Divide in India – AI and Civilisation.”
By means of publicly obtainable info on web sites similar to Zauba Corp, which collates information from official sources and third events, Sharma continues to be listed as one of many 5 administrators at The Jaipur Dialogues, having been appointed in September 2019.
As per the SGVU web site, Sharma obtained his Bachelor’s diploma in Commerce from Rajasthan College in 1984 and adopted it up with a Diploma in Legislation in 1987, and likewise has over 20 years of expertise as a authorized guide.
He says his household has been related to the Congress because the Nineteen Thirties and that his father was a normal secretary within the Congress Socialist Social gathering and was additionally lodged in jail throughout the freedom wrestle. His brother, late Suresh Sharma, was additionally the Jaipur district president of Congress social gathering and had unsuccessfully contested the Meeting election from Jaipur within the Nineties.
“My father Acharya Purushottam Uttam and my elder brother Late Suresh Sharma had devoted their total life within the service of Congress and I too have been repeatedly working for the Congress Social gathering since 1981 until now. I’m a member, nevertheless it was my luck that in this era, I received the chance to serve the social gathering whereas holding numerous posts,” Sharma stated in his clarification.
As per social gathering sources, Sharma doesn’t maintain any submit within the social gathering at the moment however has held numerous posts up to now, together with within the media cell and because the social gathering’s normal secretary. In 2013, he was nominated as Member of the Court docket of Benaras Hindu College by the President of India in his capability as a Customer of BHU.
In late 2013, forward of the Meeting elections, Sharma, entrusted with the social media marketing campaign in Rajasthan after heading the media cell for a few yr, was in information for being essential of corruption and authorities’s efficiency in infrastructure, training and healthcare; each the state and Centre was dominated by Congress then.