MP CM Says Natarajan Row Is Cong. Insider’s Job

Photograph showing Congress staging fasting protest against rejection of nomination papers of party candidate Meenakshi Natarajan-Photo-channel24india.com

Congress however dismissed the charges describing them as ‘absolutely nonsense and baseless’.

Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Wednesday alleged that the rejection of the Rajya Sabha nomination papers of Congress candidate Meenakshi Natarajan was due to “infighting” within the party and termed it an “insider’s job”

. He claimed that Natarajan was not acceptable to several senior Congress leaders in the state and questioned how a national party could omit details of a pending court case in the affidavit submitted with the nomination.

Yadav also cited the Congress’ move to gather its MLAs at the airport for a proposed trip to Bengaluru, which was later cancelled after a delay in the chartered flight, as indicative of prior planning. He said the sequence of events suggested the rejection of the nomination was pre-planned.

He further alleged that the Congress may have anticipated cross-voting by around 20-22 MLAs in favour of the BJP’s third candidate Mahesh Kewat in the June 18 Rajya Sabha polls and acted accordingly.

The Congress rejected the allegations, calling them “absolutely nonsense and baseless”. A senior party leader said the party had the numbers in its favour and was confident of its candidate’s victory.

State Congress chief Jitu Patwari alleged that the rejection of the nomination was a conspiracy by the BJP to secure the victory of its candidate.

Meanwhile, the Congress continued its protest against the Returning Officer’s decision, with senior leaders including Digvijaya Singh, Umang Singhar and Arun Yadav participating in a fasting protest for the second day in the State.