New Delhi [India], June 9 (ANI): Amid allegations by Congress over rejection of party candidate Meenakshi Natarajan’s nomination papers for Rajya Sabha polls, the Election Commission on Tuesday gave an appointment for a delegation of the party to meet it at 12 noon.
In a letter to the Congress president, the poll body said that it had considered Congress’s request for an appointment and interaction would take place at 12 noon.
Natarajan lashed out at the BJP and accused it of “attempting to manipulate the Rajya Sabha election”.
Addressing a press conference in Bhopal, she also accused the BJP of having “subverted elections in Madhya Pradesh” earlier.
She said the BJP fielded a third candidate despite lacking the requisite numerical strength.
“It all began when the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party fielded a third candidate despite lacking the requisite numerical strength. It became evident that they were engaging in politics designed to trample upon the Constitution and democracy…They are clearly attempting to manipulate the Rajya Sabha election just as they previously subverted elections in Madhya Pradesh,” Natarajan said.
“This is not merely about a Rajya Sabha seat or a specific candidate; it is about the broader struggle for the “Idea of India” and democracy that our leader, Rahul Gandhi, is waging a critical battle for our nation today. The question is whether democracy will prevail, whether India’s federal structure will endure, and whether the attempt to impose a one-party system and dictatorship will be thwarted,” she added.
Madhya Pradesh Congress President Jitu Patwari said that the party will fight against this decision with all its might.
“The Congress party will fight this with all its might…Regarding the legal and election-related allegations arising from these events and the way our legal experts approached the situation, the authorities could not, and cannot, simply dismiss the legal grounds; yet, what occurred was an act of sheer political malice. How an election officer, who also serves as the Legislative Assembly Secretary, gave a political shape to the BJP’s agenda,” he asked.
Party leader KC Venugopal on Tuesday slammed the BJP after nomination papers of Meenakshi Natarajan were rejected with a party delegation also going to meet the Election Commission over the issue.
Venugopal said that rejecting Meenakshi Natarajani’s “nomination to the Rajya Sabha is a blatant attempt by the BJP to destroy the democratic process in a clandestine manner”.
“The allegation of any error or non-disclosure in her nomination is complete humbug and a desperate attempt to snatch a seat from the INC. They stooped so low as to reject her nomination when they realised that their dirty tricks to compromise our INC MLAs is going to fail,” he said in a post on X.
“This shows the BJP’s hollow commitment to the Constitution and democracy. At every step of the way, they are hell-bent on Vote Chori – one way or another. We will not take this daylight robbery of democracy lying down, and will fight this legally as well as politically on the streets tooth-and-nail,” he added.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, who was among party leaders who reached Election Commission said that they wanted to submit a petition to Election Commission.
He accused the poll body of “deliberating stopping” the party delegation and said he had never seen something like this.
“We have come here to submit a petition. Our candidate has been disqualified. We just want to submit our petition to the Election Commission…Why can’t I sit in the waiting room? I have been a Member of Parliament for over 35 years. I have been waiting here for over 10 minutes. You are deliberately stopping us. I have never seen anything like this,” he said.
The polling for Rajya Sabha biennial elections is slated to take place on June 18. (ANI)
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