Telling truth punishable political crime now: Anand Sharma after Cong's surprise pick for RS poll

Shimla, Mar 5 (PTI) Upset over the Congress picking its Kangra district unit chief Anurag Sharma for the lone Rajya Sabha seat from Himachal Pradesh, party leader Anand Sharma on Thursday said that "telling the truth has become a punishable political crime".

Anand Sharma, a former Union minister who held several key posts in the party and at the Centre in his long political career, was, according to sources, among those who were considered for the nomination.

Congress sources had earlier said that besides Anand Sharma, names of former state unit chief Pratibha Singh (wife of late former chief minister Virbhadra Singh), party's in-charge for the state Rajni Patil, Health Minister Dhani Ram Shandil, ex-education minister Asha Kumari, CM's IT advisor Gokul Butail, spokesperson Pawan Khera were among the strong contenders.

However, on Thursday, the Congress sprang a surprise, picking Anurag Sharma as the candidate for the Rajya Sabha seat from Himachal Pradesh. He is considered close to Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.

Talking to the PTI over the phone after Anurag Sharma filed his nomination, Anand Sharma said, "Self-respect is very expensive and telling the truth has become a punishable political crime now." Notably, Anand Sharma was among the group of dissenting Congress leaders, which gained the moniker G23, who in 2021 had been pressing for a leadership change and organisational overhaul in the party.

When asked about what went wrong in getting the nomination for the Rajya Sabha polls, Anand Sharma said that people in authority have made the call in their wisdom.

"It has been a privilege to represent the state and the country for decades. There are many institutions built by me in the state, and those landmarks will remind Himachalis of the work I have undertaken," he said.

"My parental house is in Shimla, I come here, I will keep coming, and I will continue to remain among people and serve Himachal," said Sharma, who had unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha polls from Kangra in 2024.

In the Rajya Sabha election in February 2024, BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan defeated the Congress' Abhishek Manu Singhvi after they ended in a tie as six Congress MLAs cross-voted in favour of the BJP. The three Independents also voted against the Congress, and both candidates polled 34 votes each. PTI BPL NSD NSD