In a major twist to the upcoming elections for three Rajya Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh, the Returning Officer on Tuesday rejected the nomination of Congress candidate Meenakshi Natarajan after a BJP complaint alleging she concealed information regarding a case in the affidavit.
The complaint was submitted by BJP candidate Mahesh Kewat, fielded against Natarajan in the third Rajya Sabha seat. He alleged that Natarajan deliberately hid information about a case filed against her in Telangana.
"Natarajan's nomination has been rejected by the Returning Officer on the grounds of hiding information about a case," an MP Assembly official said.
Sanket Gupta, the lawyer representing Kewat, claimed that a criminal case is pending against Natarajan in a Telangana court and is not mentioned in the affidavit.
"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 told reporters.
He also claimed several other deficiencies were found in the nomination.
Meanwhile, Congress's Madhya Pradesh in-charge, Harish Chaudhary, claimed that no case had been filed against Natarajan and that she had only received a show-cause notice from the court, which was not necessary to mention it in the affidavit.
He said the Election Commission's instructions are clear that information must be provided in the nomination when a case is filed, not upon receiving a notice.
"Technically, Natarajan's nomination cannot be rejected," Chaudhary added.
(With inputs from PTI)