Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) [India], June 10 (ANI): Madhya Pradesh Congress president Jitu Patwari condemned the rejection of party candidate Meenakshi Natarajan’s Rajya Sabha nomination, calling it the “biggest murder of democracy” and a violation of rules by the Election Commission (EC).
Patwari said the decision exposes the ruling BJP’s double standards on women’s reservation and announced a sustained battle to protect the country’s democracy.
Speaking to ANI, Patwari said, “Today, the Election Commission in Bhopal has committed the biggest murder of democracy. The BJP, which talks about women’s reservation, has cancelled the election of a woman without following any rules. This is wrong with the future generation of the country. It is our fortune that we have the opportunity to take this fight to a decisive level in the country. The people of Madhya Pradesh, the ‘Gen Z’ of Madhya Pradesh, will fight this battle to the final stage. This is a fight to protect the democracy of the country. This is not a one-day fight; this is a continuous fight.”
Madhya Pradesh All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge Harish Chaudhary criticised the decision, accusing the ruling establishment of using the EC to transition from “vote theft” to “seat theft” while vowing to fight the battle both in court and before the poll body to safeguard the Constitution.
“Today, through the Election Commission, the sequence of ‘vote theft’ followed by ‘seat theft’ has begun in Madhya Pradesh. We must save the country, save the country’s Constitution, save democracy. We have to fight in every direction. To save the country, every Congress worker and every citizen of the country who believes in the Constitution will fight this battle. We will fight in the judiciary as well and also before the Election Commission,” Chaudhary told ANI.
Madhya Pradesh Leader of Opposition (LoP) Umang Singhar accused the EC of acting as a BJP agent, claiming the nomination form rejection was entirely baseless. He announced a statewide protest alongside a demand for action against the Returning Officer.
Singhar said, “The manner in which the Returning Officer of the Election Commission cancelled the nomination form had no basis. We have come here to submit a memorandum so that this matter is considered. There should be a case against the Returning Officer. The Election Commission does not want to hear. Has the Election Commission become an agent of the BJP? Our sit-in will continue, and the Election Commission will have to listen to us. This is the beginning. Tomorrow, sit-ins will be held across the entire state.”
Telangana Minister Ponnam Prabhakar called the allegations against Natrajan a fabricated BJP conspiracy against a clean leader, stating that the entire country is witnessing the ruling party’s undemocratic political subversion.
Speaking to ANI, Prabhakar said, “I have been in politics for many years. Someone like Meenakshi Natarajan, let alone being involved in a crime, would never even have any association with such things. There is no pending case against her, nor has any notice been served; there is no knowledge of any FIR. To orchestrate a conspiracy, given the undemocratic nature of the political system, and to reject her candidacy is completely illegal. On behalf of the Telangana Congress and the Telangana government, we condemn the BJP’s conspiracy and political manoeuvring; it is entirely wrong. There is no case against her whatsoever. The grounds cited to the Election Commission for her rejection are unjust. The entire country is witnessing the BJP’s tactics, how they are engaging in political subversion in places like West Bengal and elsewhere.”
Meanwhile, Congress leader Meenakshi Natarajan, whose nomination papers for Rajya Sabha polls from Madhya Pradesh were rejected on Tuesday, lashed out at the BJP and accused it of “attempting to manipulate the Rajya Sabha election”.
Addressing a press conference, 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.
Meanwhile, the Congress leaders later called off their protest outside the EC office in Bhopal after Deputy Chief Election Officer (Madhya Pradesh) Sanjay Kumar Shrivastava gave them time to meet the concerned Chief Electoral Officer (CEO).
Speaking to ANI, Shrivastava clarified that the meeting could not take place immediately because the CEO was unwell.
“We have given a time. We will invite the CEO. He has been unwell today, which is why we haven’t been able to talk,” he said.
Congress has levelled serious allegations against the EC and the BJP, with party candidate Natarajan accusing the ruling party of attempting to “trample the Constitution and democracy”. She said that there was an attempt to “manipulate” the Rajya Sabha elections.
Congress general secretary KC Venugopal said that rejecting Meenakshi Natarajan’s “nomination to the Rajya Sabha is a blatant attempt by the BJP to destroy the democratic process in a clandestine manner”.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, who was among the senior party leaders to reach the Election Commission office in Delhi, said that they wanted to submit a petition to the poll body.
The polling for Rajya Sabha biennial elections is slated to take place on June 18. (ANI)
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