Hyderabad, June 9 (IANS) Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Tuesday condemned what he termed a conspiracy by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Madhya Pradesh that led to the rejection of Congress leader Meenakshi Natarajan’s nomination for the Rajya Sabha elections.

“After vote chori and SIR, they are now resorting to seat chori,” the Chief Minister posted on X.

“This is an assault on democracy. People’s voices are being stifled. This is a dark day for Indian democracy and needs to be condemned by all citizens. We will all fight for justice,” he added.

Meenakshi Natarajan, who is AICC in-charge for Telangana, had filed a nomination for one of the three Rajya Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh. Her nomination was rejected by the Returning Officer during scrutiny over allegations of concealing information related to a legal case in her affidavit.

The Returning Officer reportedly acted on a complaint by senior BJP leader and Minister in the Mohan Yadav government, Kailash Vijayvargiya. The complaint contended that a case involving Natarajan is pending before a Telangana court and was not disclosed in her nomination affidavit.

Meanwhile, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president B. Mahesh Kumar Goud said the rejection of Natarajan’s nomination raises serious questions about the state of democratic institutions.

“After vote chori and SIR, the BJP now stands accused of seat chori. Democracy cannot survive when political manipulation overrides the will of the people. This disturbing development must be opposed by everyone who believes in fairness, justice, and constitutional values. We stand united in the fight to defend democracy,” he posted on X.

Natarajan accused the BJP of “muzzling democracy and the Constitution,” saying that what was earlier limited to “vote theft” has now become “seat theft.”

“When the number of members was not adequate, and the BJP fielded a third candidate, it all started from there. We began to understand that they are doing the politics of muzzling democracy and the Constitution,” she said at a press conference in Bhopal.

“In the guise of a legal notice, which was not taken into cognisance, they challenged the election petition,” she added.

“They are clearly attempting to manipulate the Rajya Sabha election just as they previously subverted elections in Madhya Pradesh. This is not merely about a Rajya Sabha seat or a specific candidate; it is about the broader struggle for the ‘Idea of India’ and democracy that our leader, Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, is waging a critical battle for our nation today,” she said.

–IANS

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