Margaret Alva quits as Congress general secretary

New Delhi, Nov 11 (IANS) Senior Congress leader Margaret Alva Tuesday submitted her resignation as general secretary of the party, just days after she alleged that party tickets were sold during the May 2008 elections in Karnataka.

Following the controversy, veteran leader M. Veerappa Moily had said the party's disciplinary action committee headed by Defence Minister A.K. Antony would decide on Alva's allegation of 'sale of nominations' during the assembly elections.

In an interview to a TV channel last week, Alva had said that some Congress leaders took money to select candidates. "Some people sold tickets in Karnataka, but these people lost the elections," Alva had said.

"I am saying this openly that those who didn't have knowledge of the constituencies or the local sentiments ended up deciding candidates (in Karnataka). When it comes to their own states, they say we are the leaders, we will decide. Why was this principle not implemented in Karnataka,' she said.

Her allegations were labelled a 'stunning revelation' by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). 'This has thrown up a cash-for-ticket scam,' BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said here.

The Congress denied the allegations.

'The Congress does not agree to the allegations by our senior and seasoned leader Margaret Alva that money is used in the distribution of tickets,' party spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi had told reporters.

Singhvi said during elections many people may differ on some candidates but such differences were not to be aired in public. He said winnability and party ideology are the only criterion to give tickets for elections.