Congress candidate and two-time MP from Kozhikode M.K. Raghavan on Thursday denied corruption charges made against him in a sting operation conducted by a TV news channel, blaming the CPI-M for hatching a conspiracy to tarnish his image.

Early this week, a news channel aired a sting operaton that showed Raghavan negotiating a bribe of Rs 5 crore in connection with land acquisition for opening a hotel in the city. The outgoing MP reportedly demanded the amount for his election expenses.

In the expose, he also revealed that around Rs 20 crore were required for the election campaign and his party may provide just Rs 2 crore.

At a press conference here on Thursday, Raghavan admitted that he met the people seen in the news report, but said the video was doctored and what was being aired was never spoken.

He even broke down alleging that the district leadership of the CPI-M, a mafia group and a TV channel had conspired against him to make baseless allegations.

Raghavan threatened to take legal action against the TV channel and said, "I will reveal at an appropriate time who are behind this sting."

However, CPI-M's Kozhikode District Secretary P. Mohanan refuted Raghavan's charge.

Chief Electoral Officer Tikka Ram Meena told the media that he had sought a detailed report on the sting operation from the district administration and that the police will look into it.

--IANS

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