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NEW DELHI: The Election Commission is apt to conscionable a Congress delegation connected Wednesday implicit the rejection of Meenakshi Natarajan's information for the Rajya Sabha polls from Madhya Pradesh.
This comes aft Congress leaders protested extracurricular the EC bureau successful Delhi aft the Returning Officer for the Rajya Sabha predetermination rejected Natarajan's information connected the grounds that she had allegedly concealed accusation astir a lawsuit successful her affidavit.Congress leaders, including Jairam Ramesh, KC Venugopal, Bhupesh Baghel and Sachin Pilot, arrived astatine the canvass panel's bureau and engaged successful a confrontation with information officials.Visuals from the country showed Jairam Ramesh being stopped from entering the premises.Before heading to the ECI office, Congress wide caput KC Venugopal condemned the development, saying, "...Democracy has been killed...""Rejecting Smt Meenakshi Natarajan ji's information to the Rajya Sabha is simply a blatant effort by the BJP to destruct the antiauthoritarian process successful a clandestine manner. The allegation of immoderate mistake oregon non-disclosure successful her information is implicit humbug and a hopeless effort to snatch a spot from the INC. They stooped truthful debased arsenic to cull her information erstwhile they realised that their soiled tricks to compromise our INC MLAs were going to fail," Venugopal said successful a societal media station connected X.
"This shows the BJP's hollow committedness to the Constitution and democracy. At each measurement of the way, they are hell-bent connected ballot chori — 1 mode oregon another. We volition not instrumentality this daylight robbery of ideology lying down and volition combat this legally arsenic good arsenic politically connected the streets, bony and nail," helium added.Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh main curate Mohan Yadav hailed the determination and called connected the Congress enactment to "introspect"."As you each know, the Congress campaigner concealed accusation astir a transgression background. It should person been declared. But unfortunately, the Congress radical concealed it. I invited this scrutiny. Now the Congress should introspect. They were successful fear. We invited the decision," helium said.The determination to cancel Natarajan's information was taken pursuing a ailment submitted by BJP campaigner Mahesh Kewat, who is contesting the 3rd Rajya Sabha seat.
The ailment alleged that Natarajan deliberately hid accusation astir a lawsuit filed against her successful Telangana.Sanket Gupta, the lawyer representing Kewat, told reporters that a transgression lawsuit is pending against Natarajan successful a Telangana tribunal and was not mentioned successful the affidavit.He said the Returning Officer rejected her information connected this basis."This accusation has been deliberately concealed. According to Supreme Court guidelines, you are required to supply this accusation successful the affidavit.
Kewat had filed an objection to Natarajan's candidacy nether this aforesaid provision," helium added.He claimed respective different deficiencies were recovered successful the nomination.Congress's Madhya Pradesh in-charge, Harish Chaudhary, claimed that nary lawsuit had been filed against Natarajan and that the BJP was raising specified issues to harass her.He said Natarajan had received a show-cause announcement from the tribunal and that it was not indispensable to notation it successful the affidavit.
He said the Election Commission's instructions are wide that accusation indispensable beryllium provided successful the information erstwhile a lawsuit is filed, not upon receiving a notice."Technically, Natarajan's information cannot beryllium rejected," Chaudhary added.Earlier successful the day, Congress leaders alleged poaching attempts by the BJP and shifted their MLAs to Congress-ruled Karnataka to forestall cross-voting."All Congress MLAs are being shifted to Bengaluru successful party-ruled Karnataka," Saunsar MLA Vijay Revanath Choure told quality bureau PTI.The 230-member Madhya Pradesh Assembly forms the electoral assemblage for the Rajya Sabha election. With the House's effectual spot reduced to 229 owed to a vacancy, a campaigner needs 58 first-preference votes to unafraid a spot successful the Upper House.The BJP presently has 164 MLAs, portion the Congress has 64 and the Bharat Adivasi Party one. The Assembly's spot fell by 1 aft Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti's rank from the Datia constituency was revoked.On paper, the BJP has capable numbers to comfortably triumph 2 of the 3 seats, requiring 116 votes successful total. After securing those 2 victories, it volition beryllium near with 48 votes — 10 abbreviated of the 58 needed for a 3rd seat. The Congress, meanwhile, has 4 votes much than the minimum required to elite its candidate.Ahead of the June 18 election, the BJP is assured of winning 2 seats with 116 votes and has fielded enactment nationalist wide caput Tarun Chugh and authorities portion caput Rajneesh Agrawal.Kewat, who is president of the Madhya Pradesh Fishermen Welfare Board, has been fielded by the BJP arsenic its 3rd candidate.
