Election Commission to Decide Soon on Meenakshi Natrajan's Nomination Rejection

The Election Commission is expected to deliver a decision soon regarding the rejection of Congress candidate Meenakshi Natrajan's Rajya Sabha nomination. A 10-member Congress delegation, including leaders like KC Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh, and Abhishek Manu Singhvi, met the Commission in Delhi on Wednesday. Singhvi stated that the Returning Officer's decision to reject Natrajan's nomination was legally flawed, as the grounds cited for rejection have no basis in law. He emphasized that Natrajan had no criminal case requiring disclosure, and the court had only issued a notice seeking her response on whether to proceed with a hearing.

Meanwhile, Congress workers in Bhopal protested outside the Chief Electoral Officer's office, alleging irregularities in the rejection process. On Tuesday, election officials had rejected Natrajan's nomination, citing affidavit discrepancies. The BJP accused her of concealing details about a pending case in Hyderabad court, which Congress leaders denied, calling the rejection an attack on democracy.

Singhvi outlined four key points, arguing that the case against Natrajan was not yet cognizable, as the magistrate had not taken cognizance. He added that election rules require candidates to disclose only cases where charges have been framed and a sentence of two years or more is possible. Singhvi also noted that the Election Commission has the authority to overturn the Returning Officer's decision, as seen in past cases in Haryana and Gujarat.

Separately, in Jharkhand, the nomination of NDA-backed independent candidate Parimal Nathwani was declared valid despite earlier objections raised by Congress over discrepancies in his name on nomination papers.