A complaint was submitted by BJP candidate Mahesh Kewat, contesting the third Rajya Sabha seat, to the Returning Officer alleging that Natarajan deliberately hid information about a case filed against her in Telangana.
Key Points
- The nomination of Congress candidate Meenakshi Natarajan for the upcoming elections to three Rajya Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh has been rejected during scrutiny.
- A complaint was submitted by BJP candidate Mahesh Kewat, who is contesting the third Rajya Sabha seat.
- The complaint alleged that Natarajan deliberately hid information about a case filed against her in Telangana.
- However, Congress's Madhya Pradesh in-charge, Harish Chaudhary, claimed that no case had been filed against Natarajan.
- He said Natarajan had received a show-cause notice from the court, and it was not necessary to mention it in the affidavit.
The June 18 elections for three Rajya Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh took a dramatic turn on Tuesday when the nomination of Congress candidate Meenakshi Natarajan was rejected on charges of concealing information in the affidavit.
In an order issued by Rajya Sabha election returning officer Arvind Sharma, it was stated that after examining the available documents, it was found that Natarajan had submitted an incomplete affidavit by not mentioning a court complaint in Form 26 submitted along with nomination.
BJP Leader Filed Complaint
An official of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly told PTI that Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Mahesh Kewat had filed a complaint with the returning officer alleging that Natarajan had not mentioned a case filed against her in Telangana in her affidavit.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the returning officer rejected Natarajan's nomination, according to the official.
Calling the nomination rejection a 'murder of democracy', the Congress alleged that this was not a case of 'vote theft', but of 'seat theft' and vowed to challenge the matter in court.
Congress leaders did not clarify whether the Opposition party would challenge the issue in the Madhya Pradesh high court or directly approach the Supreme Court.
Senior advocate and Congress Rajya Sabha member Vivek Tankha suggested the party should take the matter directly to the Supreme Court.
Cong Protests Outside EC Office
The Congress staged a protest outside the Election Commission office in Bhopal.
State Congress president Jitu Patwari said all party MLAs besides leaders will stage hunger strike against the EC in Bhopal and district headquarters across the state on Wednesday.
In a related development, several senior Congress leaders reached the Election Commission headquarters in New Delhi, and, after being denied entry inside, staged a sit-in protest at the main gate.
Talking to reporters, Natarajan said despite not having numbers in the assembly to field a third candidate, the BJP went ahead with its plans, making it clear the saffron party was attempting to 'crush' democracy and the Constitution.
She said, "Until now, the issue was limited to vote theft, but now it's a seat theft... When they felt that the Congress MLAs were united, they resorted to the legal notice issue."
The former Lok Sabha member asserted, "We will challenge it (nomination rejection)."
BJP candidate Kewat called it a 'victory of truth; and said the truth has clearly won.
He said, "Those who hid the truth have lost."
No FIR Against Natarajan, Clarifies Cong
Congress MP Tankha sharply commented on the rejection of Natarajan's nomination, saying that it's no longer a case of 'vote theft', but of 'seat theft'.
Tankha said he personally examined the nomination papers and found no information concealed that needed to be declared.
He said, "There was no FIR registered against her (Natarajan). There was only a notice under Section 223 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, in which an applicant claimed that she and others should be paid compensation of Rs 10 crore. Meenakshi Natarajan objected to that notice, stating that it could not be sent to her because she had no connection to the case."
The Supreme Court lawyer insisted Natarajan faces no FIR.
Tankha said, "No crime was registered, no FIR was filed, and no legal case was pending. So, what was declared an FIR or a judicial case? The mere issuance of a notice by a court does not in itself establish a case or a crime."
The Congress leader claimed an unusual situation was created without any legal case, on the basis of which the Bhopal returning officer "defeated" the winning candidate of a national party.
He said, "This is extremely sad. This is murder of democracy."
Tankha said, "This entire matter must be exposed and those responsible should also be exposed. If this practice of rejecting nomination papers begins in a democracy, then democracy will cease to exist in this country. This will be the beginning of the end of democracy."
Madhya Pradesh CM Welcomes Decision
Chief Minister Mohan Yadav welcomed the Returning Officer's decision, saying the Congress candidate concealed information about a criminal case and the party should now introspect.
State minister Kailash Vijayvargiya called it a 'victory for justice' and said the BJP had filed its objection following constitutional procedures.
Elections for the three Rajya Sabha seats are scheduled for June 18. Monday (June 8) was the last date for filing nominations and scrutiny of papers began on Tuesday.
Sanket Gupta, the lawyer representing BJP candidate Kewat, told reporters in the Assembly premises that a criminal case was pending against Natarajan in a Telangana court, but this information was not mentioned in her affidavit.
He said that according to Supreme Court guidelines, all criminal cases must be mentioned in the affidavit, but Natarajan deliberately concealed them.
Gupta said the returning officer rejected Natarajan's nomination on this basis.
Of the three vacant Rajya Sabha seats in the state, the ruling BJP is almost certain to win two, while the Congress has an upper hand in terms of numbers for the third seat.
The BJP has fielded its general secretary Tarun Chugh and state unit secretary Rajneesh Agarwal, and has placed its bet on Madhya Pradesh Fishermen Welfare Board Chairman Kewat for the third seat.
The 230-member assembly makes up the Electoral College for the elections to the Upper House of Parliament.
With the assembly's effective strength being 229, a candidate requires 58 first-preference votes to win.
