Telangana Congress spokesperson Sama Ram Mohan Reddy termed the rejection of Meenakshi Natarajan’s Rajya Sabha nomination an ‘assault on democracy,’ claiming no criminal cases were pending against her, contrary to the Returning Officer’s reason.
Congress slams ‘assault on democracy’
Speaking to ANI, Reddy said the Returning Officer rejected Natarajan’s nomination, citing non-disclosure of a criminal case allegedly registered in Telangana, but claimed that no such criminal case existed. “Congress candidate from Madhya Pradesh for Rajya Sabha, Meenakshi Natarajan’s nomination was rejected by the Election Commission, by the Returning Officer. The reason for rejection was mentioned as she failed to disclose a criminal case against her, which was registered in Telangana. But the fact is, there are no criminal cases against Meenakshi Natarajan. This was clarified by the Telangana government too. So, without a single case against her, how can they expect us to mention a case in the affidavit?” Reddy said.He further argued that the matter being referred to was only a private complaint in which a notice had been issued, and not a criminal case formally taken cognisance of by the court. “What they are referring to is a private complaint where a notice was issued to Meenakshi Natarajan ji seeking a response, but the court has not taken cognisance and registered a case. We cannot treat it as a case. So, this is a clear failure of the Election Commission to consider the complaint and check into the facts,” he said.Reddy said the matter had been raised before the Chief Election Commissioner and accused the BJP of “seat chori.” “We see it as an assault on democracy and we also see it as a seat chori from the BJP. Because we have seen the BJP doing vote chori. Today we have seen them doing seat chori,” he added.
BJP defends rejection as bureaucratic process
On the other hand, BJP Telangana state secretary Bandaru Vijayalakshmi defended the rejection of Natarajan’s nomination, saying it was part of a legal and bureaucratic process and had no political involvement. “One thing is clear: this is a governmental process. This is something done by the bureaucracy in the government; it has nothing to do with giving it a political alignment or entitlement. And we all know that transparency is the pillar of democracy. She has to disclose whatever has been there, and when the disclosure has not been done, it is by action of law that something has happened. There is no role of the Bharatiya Janata Party in this,” Vijayalakshmi told ANI.
Praise for PM Modi’s ‘golden period’
Further speaking on PM Modi’s Leadership and India’s Global Position, Vijayalakshmi termed the period of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the “golden period.” “I feel personally that this is not just a milestone for the Prime Minister in his political journey, but as a proud BJP Karyakarta, as a proud young Indian. I feel this year has been a golden year. This period of the Prime Minister has been the golden period because India has been waiting for such leadership,” she said. (ANI)(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)