'Papers from Telangana': Minister's big claim amid row over Congress candidate's RS nomination rejection

AInvigorated political arguing unfolded in Madhya Pradesh, after Congress's Rajya Sabha prospect Meenakshi Natarajan raised force o'er her candidature being rejected. However, a BJP minister has now alleged a big rift within the Congress, claiming that the papers that pointed to Natarajan's papers containing errors came from Telangana.“Afterall, who gave us the papers? They came from Telangana, where their (Congress's) government is in power. It must have been Congress people themselves who gave us the information,” Madhya Pradesh minister Kailash Vijayvargiya said on Tuesday.Natarajan was the sole Congress candidate for Rajya Sabha in Madhya Pradesh. The cancellation of her nomination by the EC means that all three BJP candidates from the state go through to the Rajya Sabha.Natarajan, who was fielded by Congress as their Rajya Sabha candidate in Madhya Pradesh, had accused the BJP of attempting to "trample the Constitution and democracy" after her nomination was rejected. Senior Congress leaders, including KC Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh and Sachin Pilot staged a dharna protest outside the Election Commission's office in Delhi, and a similar agitation was seen outside the poll panel's office in Bhopal.Claims and counterclaimsWhile the BJP celebrated Natarajan's rejection of Rajya Sabha nomination and claimed that errors in her papers led to the move, the Congress candidate instead claimed that the BJP fielded a third candidate for Rajya Sabha despite lacking the requisite numerical strength in order to “manipulate” the polls."This is not merely about a Rajya Sabha seat or a specific candidate; it is about the broader struggle for the "Idea of ​​India" and democracy that our leader, Rahul Gandhi, is waging a critical battle for our nation today. The question is whether democracy will prevail, whether India's federal structure will endure, and whether the attempt to impose a one-party system and dictatorship will be thwarted…," Natarajan said during a media interaction on Tuesday.Also Read: Flight aborted, RS nomination junked, Cong's Meenakshi Natarajan cries foul: MP '3rd seat' mystery ends before it beginsHowever, BJP leader Rahul Kothari has alleged that Natarajan's nomination papers concealed information on summons by the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) in Hyderabad. As stated in an earlier HT report, on condition of anonymity, an officer of the Assembly also said that her candidature was cancelled after taking into account the BJP leader's complaint and alleged discrepancies in her disclosure of assets. Madhya Pradesh chief minister Mohan Yadav also said Natarajan concealed a criminal record and welcomed the cancellation of her candidature. “The information deliberately withheld by the Congress candidate amounts to the offence of concealing a criminal record. In reality, if one has a pending criminal case in any court, it must be disclosed in the affidavit so that every voter is aware of all relevant details when one becomes a candidate,” Yadav said in a media interaction.Amid an escalating controversy, the Election Commission (EC) is expected to meet a Congress delegation on Wednesday.