Ram Chandra and two other men reportedly posed outside Leader of Opposition Rameshwar Dudi's office in Rajasthan Assembly
A political row has erupted in Rajasthan after a man booked under the stringent Prevention of Anti-Social Activity Act or PASA managed to enter the state assembly and meet Leader of Opposition Rameshwar Dudi.
Ram Chandra Khileri, who faces 19 criminal cases on charges of loot and dacoity, met Mr Dudi, the Congress Member of Legislative Assembly or MLA from Nokha constituency of Bikaner district, on July 25.
Legislators of the ruling BJP have termed the incident as a serious breach of security.
BJP MLA Madan Rathore has reportedly obtained CCTV footage which shows Ram Chandra and two other men posing outside an office in the assembly premises; the nameplate on the door shows Mr Dudi's name.
The BJP legislator claimed that when Ram Chandra was denied a visitor's pass by security personnel at the high-security site, Mr Dudi helped him gain entry into the assembly premises.
"He could not get a pass as he is a hard-core criminal, so Mr Dudi gave him a lift in his car and brought him inside the assembly," said Mr Rathore.
Mr Dudi has denied that he played any role in helping Ram Chandra enter the assembly premises.
Ram Chandra, who Mr Dudi claims is a Congress worker, said he had been wrongly framed under PASA and sought his help, said the Leader of Opposition.
"He is not a most-wanted criminal. In fact, there is no arrest warrant pending against him. He came to me as a party worker," said Mr Dudi.