Meenakshi Natarajan nomination – Natarajan was given a chance to submit missing details, she didn’t do so: Officials Bhopal: Congress candidate Meenakshi Natarajan’s nomination for the June 18 Rajya Sabha elections in Madhya Pradesh was rejected after scrutiny on Tuesday, throwing the electoral arithmetic into disarray as the BJP came close to winning all three seats unopposed. The nomination was rejected by Returning Officer A P Singh after the BJP objected that Natarajan failed to disclose details of the case pending in Telangana. The Congress described the move as “illegal” and alleged that the BJP had hatched a “constitutional conspiracy” to grab the third Rajya Sabha seat despite lacking numbers.
Under election law, the Election Commission cannot overturn the decision of the Returning Officer during investigation. The stakes were already running high after the BJP sprung a surprise by fielding Mahesh Kewat as the third candidate. With 164 MLAs in the 230-member assembly, BJP is in a comfortable position to get two seats.
A candidate needs 58 votes to win, leaving the caucus to rely on additional votes, cross-voting or abstention. “The BJP fielded a third candidate without sufficient votes and we knew there would be hurdles,” Natarajan said. “First, they were stealing votes through SIR, now they are stealing seats.
We will fight this battle through every democratic and constitutional platform available,” he said. Congress legal cell representative Ajay Gupta said, “This case pertains to BNS section 223 relating to willful disobedience of lawful order by a public servant. It is not a criminal case in the traditional sense.
” “There was no requirement to disclose it under the prescribed norms. ” Gupta said the party would challenge the rejection before appropriate legal forums, including the EC and SC.
Congress angry over cancellation of Natarajan’s RS nomination, BJP close to winning all 3 seats in MP. BJP responded that the RO had only followed the law and SC guidelines on disclosure of pending criminal cases. BJP legal cell member Sanket Gupta said, “Apart from the FIR, if a court summons has been issued in a criminal case, the declaration is mandatory.
” “She cannot claim ignorance as she herself responded to the notice issued by the Hyderabad court. “.