Senior Congress Rajya Sabha MP and advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi on Wednesday described the rejection of nomination of the party’s Rajya Sabha candidate Meenakshi Natarajan from Madhya Pradesh as “weak and completely partisan”, days before polling for three Lok Sabha seats in the state on June 18.
“My opinion on the legal validity of the issue of rejection of nomination papers of Menaxi Natrajan J. The returning officer’s decision is really bad and completely partisan,” Singhvi posted on X, where he shared a video outlining his legal objections to the matter.
The rejection came on Tuesday after BJP leaders, including Rajya Sabha candidate Mahesh Kewat and party general secretary Rahul Kothari, filed an objection alleging that Natarajan had concealed details of a case pending in a Hyderabad court in her election certificate. Returning Officer (RO) and Principal Secretary of the House Arvind Sharma upheld the objection, ruling that she had submitted an incomplete form and concealed facts.
In a private complaint, a woman, Srilatha, approached the Hyderabad Magistrate’s Court on August 20, 2025, naming Natarajan as an accused in the case. The court issued notice to Natarajan on September 17, 2025. Her lawyer filed a counter-affidavit on October 24, denying the charges and terming the complaint politically motivated, but the court denied the motion to dismiss.
Read also: ‘The action is illegal, there is no case against Meenakshi Natarajan’: Congress after EC meeting on RS nomination
Congress Rajya Sabha member and senior advocate Vivek Tanka said no criminal case has been registered against Natarajan.
“Only a notice explaining the reason for the actions was received $Compensation of Rs 10 crore should not be made against her and other persons. Meenakshi Ji’s lawyer responded to this notice. “No FIR has been lodged,” he said.
Tanka, who examined the nomination papers before they were submitted, said the returning officer could not reject the nomination without giving the candidate a meaningful opportunity to address the issue.
The Congress has emphasized that the Election Commission of India (ECI) guidelines require disclosure only when a formal case is filed, and not when notice is received.
“Technically, Natarajan’s nomination cannot be rejected,” Madhya Pradesh Congress official Harish Chaudhary said.
The party said the refusal deprived Natarajan of her constitutional right to contest elections and her right to a fair trial.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav defended the decision.
“If anyone has a criminal case pending in any court, it should be disclosed in the affidavit so that every voter is aware of all relevant details. I welcome the decision,” he said. He added that Congress “made mistakes in the nomination form for fear of defeat.”
A Congress delegation led by party general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal, along with Jairam Ramesh, Bhupesh Baghel and Sachin Pilot, went to the Election Commission headquarters in New Delhi on Tuesday evening to file a petition, but were not allowed to meet EC officials.
“This is a clear-cut case of killing democracy. If a small element of democracy remains in this country, the European Commission must intervene without delay,” Venugopal said.
The Election Commission of India agreed to meet the Congress delegation on Wednesday.
Tanka suggested that the party go directly to the Supreme Court to challenge the rejection.
With Natarajan out of the contest, the BJP is now poised to win all three Madhya Pradesh Rajya Sabha seats unopposed, moving closer to the two-thirds majority in the Senate that it has sought since 2014.
