New Delhi [India], June 12 (ANI) Congress’s Rajya Sabha candidate from Madhya Pradesh Meenakshi Natarajan, on Friday, asserted that there has been no concealment of facts and that the documents filed with the Election Commission are transparent.
Addressing the matter, which is currently before the Supreme Court, Natrajan emphasised the limitations of public discussion due to the legal proceedings.
“Since the matter is subjudice, and currently being heard by the Supreme Court, I will not discuss it in great detail or delve into all the legal aspects today. However, one specific matter is already in the public domain; since it is available on the Election Commission’s website,” she stated.
The controversy centres on Form 26, the mandatory affidavit filed by candidates to declare their assets, liabilities, and educational qualifications, as well as any criminal antecedents.
“The core of the entire issue revolves around a specific document, Form 26. It has been alleged that I failed to record certain information in Form 26 and concealed facts,” Natrajan said.
Clarifying the specific allegations regarding the non-disclosure of legal matters, they pointed out that the issue stemmed from a misunderstanding of what constitutes a “pending case.”
“The most critical point which sparked this entire controversy concerns the disclosure of any pending criminal cases or convictions for punishable offences. Naturally, regarding these points, I stated that they did not apply to me because I had only received a legal notice,” she said.
Natrajan further noted that full transparency had been maintained with the Election Commission of India (ECI) regarding the said notice.
“I provided full legal details regarding that notice in the memorandum submitted to the ECI, and I will present the same facts in the Supreme Court today. It is merely a legal notice; the court has not even taken cognizance of the matter,” the Congress leader said.
She said that the form does not provide a specific section for the information in question.
“Therefore, there must be clarity regarding where exactly this was supposed to be recorded. Form 26 contains no column requiring the disclosure of information about random private complaints. Had there been such a column, I would certainly have provided that information,” Natarajan said.
Natarajan was flanked by other Congress leaders, including MP Congress in charge Harish Chaudhary, MP state unit chief Jitu Patwari, the Congess Legislature Party leader in Madhya Pradesh Umang Singhar, Delhi Congress chief Devendra Yadav and others at the AICC Headquarters in Akbar Road in the national capital.
Natarajan’s nomination for one of the three seats to the Upper House from the State was rejected by the Returning Officer (RO) on Tuesday, citing alleged irregularities in her election affidavit.
The Supreme Court is expected to hear the matter further today, where the detailed legal arguments regarding the disclosure requirements in Form 26 will be presented.
Meanwhile, Congress this morning held a ‘Satyagraha’ protest at Jantar Mantar in the national capital against the Election Commission of India (ECI) over the rejection of party leader Natarajan’s nomination for the Rajya Sabha elections from Madhya Pradesh.
The protesting workers were seen holding a banner with the quote “First Vote Chori, Now ‘Seat Chori’ and then the Election Commission’s brazen defiance.”
On Wednesday afternoon, a delegation of Congress leaders, including general secretary KC Venugopal and Abhishek Many Singhvi, along with Natarajan, met with EC officials and sought a reversal of the decision, terming the Returning Officer’s order “egregious, blatantly unlawful, and detrimental to the democratic process”. (ANI)
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