Congress leader Rahul Gandhi may not be in favour of criminals entering politics, but in Bihar he shares space with Pappu Yadav, who has been convicted for the murder of a CPI-M leader, on hoardings and posters.
Posters with pictures of Rahul and the convicted muscle man have been put up by Yuva Shakti -- an organization owing personal allegiance to Yadav -- in state capital Patna and Madhepura, a Yadav stronghold.
Interestingly, Pappu Yadav is not a member of the Congress party.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi's photograph too appears on the posters.
State Congress president Anil Sharma told rediff.com on Thursday that he was stunned to hear about the posters. "It is shocking; it is a blatant misuse of Rahul Gandhi's picture. We will ensure that they are removed."
Yadav was sentenced to life imprisonment by a lower court two years ago for the murder of CPI-M MLA Ajit Sarkar in 1998. The former Rashtriya Janata Dal MP was expelled from the party last year before last Lok Sabha polls. Since then, Yadav has been trying to cosy up with Congress through his wife, Ranjit Ranjan.
Yadav faces dozens of criminal cases, including murder, kidnapping and extortion.
Pappu, currently out on bail, was keen on contesting from Madhepura seat in the last Lok Sabha polls, but failed to do so after the Patna High Court rejected his petition seeking a stay on the life imprisonment.
According to Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act of 1951, any person convicted for a crime and sentenced to more than a two-year-long jail term cannot fight elections till six years after the completion of his sentence.
