Cong asks ECI to overturn Natarajan rejection, flags legal overreach

A day after the rejection of Meenakshi Natarajan's Rajya Sabha nomination upended the electoral arithmetic in Madhya Pradesh, a Congress delegation met Election Commission officials on Wednesday, 10 June, seeking immediate intervention and the reversal of what it described as an “egregious, blatant, patently unlawful order” order by the returning officer.

The Congress argued that Natarajan was disqualified on the basis of a complaint filed in Telangana that had not even crossed the stage of judicial cognisance, and accused the returning officer of misapplying election law to hand the BJP an unfair advantage in the closely watched Rajya Sabha contest.

Natarajan's nomination was rejected by RO Sandeep Yadav following objections raised by senior BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya.The Congress, however, contended that no criminal case was pending against Natarajan as the magistrate had not even taken cognisance of the complaint.

Addressing the media after meeting the poll panel, senior Congress leader and Supreme Court lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi described the returning officer's decision as "distorted, legally untenable and patently erroneous".

"The very basis on which Meenakshi Natarajan's nomination has been rejected does not exist in law," Singhvi said. "A notice was issued by a magistrate asking her to appear and explain whether cognisance should be taken. Cognisance is only a preliminary judicial stage where the court decides whether a complaint merits further proceedings. Until cognisance is taken, no criminal case comes into existence in the eyes of law," he said.

Singhvi argued that the Election Commission's own rules require disclosure only in cases where charges have been framed by a court and the alleged offence carries a punishment of more than two years.

"Section 33A of the Representation of the People Act is crystal clear. Disclosure is mandatory only when charges have been framed by a competent court in offences punishable with imprisonment of more than two years. Framing of charges is a judicial act. In Meenakshi Natarajan's case, the magistrate has not even taken cognisance, let alone framed charges," he said.

Calling the decision an attack on the heart of democracy, he said: "A non-level playing field strikes at the heart of democracy and, by extension, the basic structure of the Constitution. We have urged the Election Commission to intervene immediately and set aside this completely unlawful and arbitrary order."

The controversy triggered high political drama in Bhopal on Tuesday. With fears of possible poaching of legislators by the BJP following which Congress MLAs were assembled and prepared to be flown to Bengaluru. However, after waiting for nearly two hours on the runway, they were asked to return after news emerged that Natarajan's nomination had been rejected.

Political watchers say the stakes are high in the Madhya Pradesh Rajya Sabha election as the BJP has fielded three candidates. With 164 MLAs in the 230-member Assembly, the party has sufficient numbers to comfortably secure two seats but falls short of the required tally for a third seat by around ten votes.

Congress, with 63 MLAs and its ally Bharat Adivasi Party's one MLA, was well placed to win one seat, requiring only 58 first-preference votes to secure Natarajan's victory. Her disqualification has, however significantly altered the contest. The BJP was attempting to subvert the electoral process, alleged Natrajan after Kevat's candidature was announced.

The BJP had initially announced the candidature of its national general-secretary Tarun Chugh and state unit secretary Rajneesh Agrawal. It later sprang a surprise by fielding Kewat, chairman of the Madhya Pradesh Fishermen Welfare Board, as its third candidate, hoping to get some votes from Congress MLAs, believe MP watchers.