"Last hope is only from Supreme Court...": Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel on party approaching apex court in Meenakshi Natarajan case
New Delhi, June 11
Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel on Thursday expressed faith in the apex court, saying that it is the only hope for the party amid Meenakshi Natarajan's nomination cancellation row.
Notably, Meenakshi Natrajan was the Congress candidate from Madhya Pradesh for the upcoming Rajya Sabha biennial elections.
"The last hope is only from the Supreme Court. We have hope only from the court and complete faith. The court can make any decision; we have complete faith," Baghel said.
This comes as the Supreme Court is set to hear Congress leader Meenakshi Natarajan's plea challenging the rejection of her Rajya Sabha nomination papers on Friday.
Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi mentioned the matter before a bench of Justices PK Mishra and Atul S. Chandurkar, describing it as a genuinely urgent case and seeking either an early listing or a one-line interim order.
Taking note of the submissions, the Supreme Court listed the matter for hearing tomorrow.
Arguing that the Returning Officer wrongly rejected Natarajan's nomination for allegedly failing to disclose a pending criminal case, Singhvi submitted, "Only a summons was issued (against her), not even a cognisance of the case. The Returning Officer disqualifies her.
"The plea contends that the Returning Officer acted illegally, arbitrarily and with bias, and seeks the immediate setting aside of the decision rejecting her nomination papers.
Earlier on Wednesday, a ten-member Congress delegation met with the Election Commission in New Delhi over the rejection of party Rajya Sabha candidate Meenakshi Natarajan's nomination from Madhya Pradesh.
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.
The polling for Rajya Sabha biennial elections is slated to take place on June 18.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Baghel ji is right to have faith in the judiciary. But the issue here is the Returning Officer's arbitrary action. If a summons hasn't even reached cognizance stage, how can it be a pending case? The EC should have intervened earlier instead of waiting for the court.
It's interesting how quickly the system works when it benefits the ruling party. Three BJP candidates unopposed? That's not democracy, that's just a managed outcome. Hope the Supreme Court restores some balance here.
Even as a neutral observer, this looks fishy. The Returning Officer needs to be held accountable if the rejection was on flimsy grounds. But Congress should also have been more careful with nominations. Both sides need to learn from this circus.
The Congress delegation meeting the EC was just a formality. Only Supreme Court can give justice now. But abhi to khel khatam ho gaya hai - three BJP candidates are going to Rajya Sabha unopposed. Kya democratic hai yeh? 🤔
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