Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) [India], June 10 (ANI): Congress MP Digvijaya Singh on Wednesday called the rejection of Congress Rajya Sabha election candidate Meenakshi Natarajan's nomination "unconstitutional."
Meenakshi Natarajan's nomination was rejected on Tuesday, after the electoral authorities found irregularities in her affidavit.
Speaking to reporters in Bhopal, Digvijaya Singh stated that the party will take both legal and political steps. He alleged bias by the returning officer.
The senior Congress leader said, "This is certainly an unconstitutional and illegal decision, showing clear bias by the returning officer. Both legal and political steps will be taken."
Madhya Pradesh Congress MLA Jaivardhan Singh noted that the case, for which her nomination was rejected, was merely a non-cognisable notice.
Jaivardhan Singh said, "There is no case pending against Meenakshi Natarajan. The matter dates back to 2017, when she was not even in charge of Telangana. At that time, one individual issued a notice, but as senior advocate Singhvi explained, it was a non-cognisable notice. Notices are common and do not amount to criminal cases. Therefore, this action against her is entirely unlawful."
Meanwhile, a Congress delegation met with the Election Commission of India (ECI) to discuss Natrajan's nomination. The delegation included KC Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh, Randeep Singh Surjewala, Vivek Tankha, Digvijaya Singh, Bhupesh Baghel and Meenakshi Natarajan.
Congress MP and senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi likened the Returning Officer's (RO) decision to reject Congress candidate's nomination to saying "2+2=7," asserting that the order was legally untenable and based on a complete misreading of the law.
Speaking to the media after the Congress delegation met the ECI, Singhvi said the party had presented detailed legal arguments demonstrating that the RO's order was "perverse" and contrary to the provisions of the Representation of the People Act.
"We have told them (EC), and we have demonstrated, according to us, beyond doubt and beyond any matter of controversy, that the RO has passed a perverse order. An order akin to writing 2+2=7, not 4," Singhvi said.
Explaining the party's legal position, Singhvi referred to Section 33A of the Representation of the People Act, which mandates disclosure only in cases where charges have been formally framed by a court and where the alleged offence carries a punishment of more than two years.
The BJP has fielded Tarun Chugh, Rajneesh Agarwal and Mahesh Kewat for elections for three Rajya Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh.
The polling for Rajya Sabha biennial elections is slated to take place on June 18. (ANI)
