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Bhopal: The upcoming elections to three Rajya Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh took a dramatic turn Tuesday with the nomination of Congress candidate Meenakshi Natarajan being rejected on charges of concealing information about a case in the affidavit.

“Natarajan’s nomination has been rejected by the Returning Officer on the grounds of hiding information about a case,” an MP Assembly official told PTI.

The Congress sharply criticised the rejection of its candidate’s nomination, dubbing it as an example of “seat theft”.

Senior lawyer and Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha told PTI Videos, “I have personally examined the nomination papers. This is no longer a case of vote theft, but rather a case of seat theft. Democracy has been openly robbed. You may ask how? She (Natarajan) had not concealed any information that was required to be declared. No FIR was filed against her.”

A complaint was submitted by BJP candidate Mahesh Kewat, contesting the third Rajya Sabha seat, to the Returning Officer alleging that Natarajan deliberately hid information about a case filed against her in Telangana.

Sanket Gupta, the lawyer representing Kewat, told reporters that a criminal case was pending against Natarajan in a Telangana court, and this was not mentioned in her affidavit submitted along with the nomination papers.

He said the Returning Officer rejected her nomination on this basis.

“This information has been deliberately concealed. According to Supreme Court guidelines, you are required to provide this information in the affidavit. Kewat had filed an objection to Natarajan’s candidacy under this same provision,” he added.

Gupta claimed several other “deficiencies” were also found in the nomination papers.

State minister Kailash Vijayvargiya called it a “victory for justice” and said the BJP had filed its objection following constitutional procedures.

Tankha insisted Natarajan, a former Lok Sabha member from Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh, faces no FIR.

“There was only a notice under Section 223 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, in which an applicant claimed compensation of Rs 10 crore from her and others. Natarajan objected to that notice, stating that it could not have been sent to her because she had no connection to the case. There was no crime registered, no FIR, and no legal case pending.”

The Rajya Sabha MP called the nomination rejection a sad development.

“So, what could she declare as an FIR or a judicial case? Merely issuing a notice by a court does not, in itself, establish a case or a crime. Without any legal process, an unusual situation was created, based on which the Bhopal Returning Officer defeated the winning candidate of a national party. This is extremely sad,” Tankha said.

He suggested that Congress should take the matter to the Supreme Court.

“It is a murder of democracy. We understand that an election petition can be filed against this, but in these special circumstances, I would advise my party to go directly to the Supreme Court. The entire matter must be exposed and those responsible must be exposed. If this practice of rejecting nomination papers begins in a democracy, then democracy will cease to exist in this country. This will be the beginning of the end of democracy,” Tankha asserted.

Congress’s Madhya Pradesh in-charge, Harish Chaudhary, claimed no case had been filed against Natarajan and that the BJP was bringing up such cases to harass her.

He maintained Natarajan had just received a show-cause notice from the court, and it was not necessary to mention it in the affidavit.

Election Commission’s instructions are clear that information must be provided in the nomination when a case is filed, not upon receiving a notice, Chaudhary argued.

“Technically, Natarajan’s nomination cannot be rejected,” Chaudhary added.

The Rajya Sabha polls are scheduled to be held June 18. The 230-member assembly makes up the Electoral College for the elections to the Upper House of Parliament. With the assembly’s effective strength being 229, a candidate requires 58 first-preference votes to win.

The ruling BJP, which has 164 MLAs, is assured of winning two seats with 116 votes, while the Congress can win one seat.

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