New Delhi [India], June 12 : Congress leader Meenakshi Natarajan's bleak hope for Rajya Sabha saw a major setback on Friday as the Supreme Court dismissed her plea challenging the rejection of her nomination papers from Madhya Pradesh.
Congress's satyagrah protest outside the Election Commission over the rejection of her nomination also turned out to be futile after Delhi police detained several Congress leaders, bringing an end to the protest.
The Supreme Court said, "We are not inclined to entertain this petition, and it is hereby dismissed", the court said.
The apex court also said that its observation on Natarajan's nomination would not prejudice any election petition that may be instituted before the jurisdictional High Court.
Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Natarajan, argued that in the case cited against her, charges had not been framed, which is a requirement under the Representation of the People's Act (RoP) for rejecting a nomination.
Reacting to the Supreme Court's decision, Natarajan said, "We all know the Election Commission's stance. I do not wish to make any comment regarding the Supreme Court."
"I have been saying from day one that the Election Commission is deeply compromised, and today this has been proven once again. When the lawyer for the State of Madhya Pradesh stands up, this isn't a matter concerning the State of Madhya Pradesh. We weren't fighting against the states; we were talking about the Election Commission. We were highlighting how the Returning Officer was compromised, and they have been exposed before the public..." the Congress leader said.
The nomination papers of Natarajan, the Congress candidate for one of three Rajya Sabha seats from Madhya Pradesh was rejected by the Returning Officer on the grounds that she allegedly failed to disclose a pending criminal case against her.
In an eventful day, Congress also held a 'Satyagraha' protest at Jantar Mantar in the national capital against the Election Commission of India (ECI) over the rejection of party leader Meenakshi Natarajan's nomination.
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."
The protesters were allegedly stopped by the Delhi Police as they attempted to march towards Rashtrapati Bhavan to seek an audience with President Droupadi Murmu and raise concerns over the issue.
Heavy police deployment and barricading were put in place outside the Congress headquarters to maintain law and order.
Police detained Madhya Pradesh Congress President Jitu Patwari and other party leaders participating in a 'Satyagraha' protest.
Patwari got into a heated argument with the police who were trying to detain him during the protest at Jantar Mantar. He was eventually dragged into a police bus and detained. Congress leaders have been holding a 'Satyagraha' protest over the rejection of Natarajan's Rajya Sabha nomination.
"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 said.
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.
Police also detained Rajiv Gandhi Panchayati Raj Sangathan workers during their protest.
From inside the police detention bus, protesters could be heard chanting slogans while holding banners that read 'Satya ki raah, loktantra ki chah' (On the path of truth, yearning for democracy) and 'Election Commission Compromised.'
Police officials were seen carrying the protestors to the bus to control the situation.
A protestor claimed that "this government is anti-women... The government disrespected the women of the entire county"
Meanwhile, the Nampally Court returned a petition filed against Congress leader Meenakshi Natarajan and others in the case, whose non-disclosure of this case led to the rejection of Meenakshi Natarajan's Rajya Sabha nomination from Madhya Pradesh.
They returned the petition over the grounds that the court does not have the jurisdiction to entertain the plea on the former or current public representatives, Ravi Shankar Jandyala, advocate representing Congress, said.
The case was filed by a party worker alleging that the alleging that Kumbham Shiva Kumar Reddy of Narayanpet had sexually assaulted and threatened her. The complainant had also alleged that she requested Meenakshi Natarajan, who was the Congress in-charge at that time, and others to take action against the accused.
Speaking about his argument in the court, Ravi Shankar Jandyala said, "Second, third, fourth, fifth respondents, including the General Secretary, are either MLC or a present sitting MLA or a present minister or ex-MP. Therefore, this court has no jurisdiction to issue a summons before taking cognisance.... Without looking into those aspects, summons are issued to us... The court accepted my contention and said fine.... The court asked us to substantiate our contention. Therefore, we filed a memo into the section. Immediately after taking cognisance of the memo, the court has returned it and said that you file it in an appropriate court. This court has no jurisdiction to entertain this petition at all... It is only a return to facilitate the complainant to take it back and file it in the appropriate court."
The Complainant Srilatha alleged that the Congress has been trying to "influence" the case and the leadership, instead of taking action against Shivakumar Reddy have pushed her aside.
"I approached high command. I sent several messages to them to kindly suspend him (Kumbham Shivakumar Reddy) from the party... They have not done it. Then I approached Meenakshi Natarajan to ask them for the suspension letter. She told me he has already been suspended from the party. Then I questioned her, when he is already suspended, how is he on the official stage?... They are damaging my case. 50 members, advocates, some congressmen and Vamshi Chand Reddy were in the court hall to influence the judicial system," she added.
Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Working President KT Rama Rao (KTR) launched a scathing attack on the Congress government in Telangana, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, and the BJP-led Central Government while addressing an extensive media interaction.
KTR alleged that the Congress party's internal conspiracies, leadership failures, and governance collapse have exposed the true nature of the ruling party before the people of Telangana.
According to the release, KTR asserted that the Congress party itself is solely responsible for the defeat of Meenakshi Natarajan. He questioned why Congress leaders are attempting to drag political opponents into an issue that is entirely the result of their own internal betrayals and factional politics.
He demanded that the Congress leadership investigate who within the party leaked details related to cases against Meenakshi Natarajan and supplied information to BJP leaders. KTR remarked that if Chief Minister Revanth Reddy is so fond of constituting Special Investigation Teams (SITs), he should order an SIT probe into this matter as well.
With Natarajan's nomination cancelled, all three Bharatiya Janata Party candidates from Madhya Pradesh--Tarun Chugh, Rajneesh Agarwal and Mahesh Kewat--are set to enter the Rajya Sabha unopposed.