Sukh Ram, a minister in the Narasimha Rao led Congress government, who was expelled after his alleged involvement in a telecom scam, re-joined the Congress along with his grandson Aashray Sharma. The 91-year-old former telecom minister was indicted after the CBI seized Rs. 3.6 crore from his official residence.
The agency said it was kickbacks received for irregular award of a telecom contract. His conviction, however, was in a different case – fraud in purchase of telecom-related hardware. He was also convicted for amassing assets disproportionate to his income.
“When I joined BJP, the party got 44 seats out of 68 in the assembly elections (in Himachal Pradesh),” Sukh Ram said. His son Anil Sharma had joined the BJP before the last assembly elections in 2017. Currently, he is a cabinet minister in the Jai Ram Thakur-led BJP government in Himachal Pradesh.
