New Delhi [India], June 12 : Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Jitu Patwari, on Friday, alleged that the rejection of Meenakshi Natarajan's Rajya Sabha nomination was an unprecedented development in Indian politics and raised concerns about the state of democracy in the country.
Addressing a press conference, Patwari claimed that the cancellation of a Rajya Sabha nomination was being widely discussed and reflected growing concerns among the public about democratic institutions.
"The first case, the first such incident in Indian politics where a Rajya Sabha nomination has been cancelled--this is currently a subject of discussion in the country. There is a deep-seated feeling in the minds of the common public: will democracy survive in this country, or is the nation heading towards autocracy and dictatorship? This is a significant event that reflects that entire line of thought.
Patwari further alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party acted out of fear after witnessing the unity among Congress legislators during the Rajya Sabha election process.
"The core fact is that seeing the unity of our MLAs and the enthusiasm and aggression with which the Rajya Sabha events unfolded, Narendra Modi got terrified; the entire BJP leadership of Madhya Pradesh got terrified. And ultimately, they committed this crime, this offence--cancelling a Rajya Sabha nomination for the upper house [of Parliament], resorting to the kind of tactics that typically occur in small-scale local elections like Sarpanch or Janpad polls in every village and street," Patwari alleged.
Referring to the party's strength in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly, Patwari said that all Congress MLAs, except senior leader Kamal Nath, were present and that the party had the required numbers for the Rajya Sabha election.
"In the context of Madhya Pradesh, all 61 of our 61 MLAs, except Kamal Nath ji, are present here. We needed 58 MLAs. The BJP tried to set a narrative despite being short of 10 MLAs. The independent [MLAs] involved were with us, and the one or two other parties were also with us," he said.
Political turmoil across the circles of Madhya Pradesh rose earlier this week after the electoral authorities cancelled the nomination of Congress' Rajya Sabha candidate Meenakshi Natarajan due to alleged irregularities in her affidavit.
The Congress, earlier in the day held a 'Satyagraha' against the Election Commission of India (ECI) at the Jantar Mantra over the issue.