Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) [India], March 10 : Madhya Pradesh Congress president Jitu Patwari on Tuesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of having an "anti-tribal mindset" and said that the Congress party would approach the Supreme Court against the decision to declare the election of Congress leader Mukesh Malhotra from Vijaypur Assembly constituency "null and void".
The Gwalior Bench of the MP High Court on Monday declared the 2024 bye-election of Congress legislator Malhotra "null and void" and directed the runner-up BJP candidate, Ramniwas Rawat, as the "elected MLA" from the seat.
Addressing the reporters, MP Congress Chief Patwari said, "...The way in which the court delivered its decision for the election of Congress legislator Mukesh Malhotra has astonished people. Such a decision also raises questions about the trust placed in the court. There is an allegation of hiding criminal charges. There was a verbal altercation; the crime was not such that the fundamental principle of concealing a crime could affect the election. Even then, the decision could have been voided. But reappointing the defeated MLA as an MLA raises serious questions about the judiciary itself. We have faith in this system of justice and will file our appeal in the Supreme Court today."
He further accused and described the Bharatiya Janata Party as "anti-Dalit and anti-Constitution mindset."
"We will put our entire side before the Supreme Court. But this entire incident has once again branded the BJP as anti-Dalit, anti-tribal, anti-democracy, anti-Constitution, and anti-Baba Saheb Ambedkar. If a tribal candidate is elected from a general seat, the BJP does not like it at all," the Congress leader said.
Additionally, Patwari stressed that on one hand, the BJP presents various things in different ways to the Dalit, but on the other hand, it delivers such a major blow to a leader from a reserved category.
"They (BJP) have their government in power with nearly a two-thirds majority, yet the thinking persists that a tribal person should not hold that position. What kind of thinking is this?" the Congress leader said.
Notably, the Vijaypur assembly seat in Sheopur district fell vacant after Ramniwas Rawat, who was sitting MLA from the seat for the Congress party, quit the grand old party and joined the BJP amid the Lok Sabha elections in April 2024. The by-poll for the seat was held in November 2024, in which Rawat contested under the BJP flag and lost to Congress candidate Mukesh Malhotra, who contested from the seat.
Later on, Rawat filed a petition before the court about the unfair practice of the Congress candidate for not disclosing the information related to criminal charges against the latter. Hearing the matter, Justice G S Ahluwalia declared the bye-poll of Congress legislator null and void and directed Rawat as elected MLA from the seat.