AICC general secretary Margaret Alva has created an embarrassment for the Congress as she alleged that party tickets were sold for upcoming assembly polls.

She said that different yardsticks were adopted while deciding party nominations. Relatives of number of party functionaries were given ticket in many states, but when it comes to Karnataka the party applied a totally different yardstick.
 
She said that, "I am a member of the CEC and people from Karnataka are constantly asking me why one set of guidelines was applied to Karnataka and another set of rules is being used for the other election-going States."

When she was asked if she's upset because her son had been denied ticket, she said, "What was wrong with C.K. Jaffer Sharief's grandson or my son? Were they anti-national or terrorists?"

As many as 23 Congress candidates chosen to contest the upcoming polls are relatives of senior party leaders. Madhya Pradesh alone has 10 such. Chhattisgarh has five, Rajasthan seven and Jammu & Kashmir one.

But saying all these in public could land her in trouble. Her case could be referred to the Central Disciplinary Action Committee of the party headed by defence minister A K Antony, said party sources.