Bengaluru/New Delhi: Telangana Congress in-charge Meenakshi Natarajan on Tuesday launched a sharp attack on the BJP and the Election Commission of India, alleging that her nomination was unfairly rejected in the recent Madhya Pradesh Rajya Sabha elections as part of a larger political strategy.
Addressing a media conference in Bengaluru, Natarajan said that the Congress was entitled to one Rajya Sabha seat based on the numerical strength of the Madhya Pradesh assembly. However, she alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party fielded a third candidate despite lacking the required numbers, with the intention of encouraging horse-trading.
Referring to the rejection of her nomination papers, Natarajan said the Election Commission’s 2023 guidelines clearly state that nominations should not be rejected over technical errors in affidavits. “In my case, the nomination was rejected in Madhya Pradesh, while in a similar situation in Jharkhand, the candidate was allowed to make corrections,” she alleged, calling the move discriminatory.
She said she approached the Election Commission on June 10, a day after her nomination was rejected on June 9, but received no relief. “With no option left, I was forced to approach the Supreme Court of India,” she said.
Claiming that India was witnessing unequal application of electoral rules, Natarajan alleged, “There are now two election systems in the country — one for influential businessmen and those aligned with the Centre, and another meant to suppress those who stand up for the Constitution.”
She added that the Indian National Congress has extended full support to her and will continue its legal and political fight against what she described as “vote theft, seat theft and party theft”. “The Congress will resist all attempts to push the country towards a ‘one nation, one party’ model,” she said.
