Bengaluru
Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on the BJP, alleging misuse of the election machinery after the nomination of Congress candidate Meenakshi Natarajan for the Rajya Sabha election from Madhya Pradesh was rejected.
In a post on social media platform X, Siddaramaiah called it “peak irony” that while the BJP was celebrating Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s long tenure in office as a milestone for Indian democracy, the nomination rejection had taken place under what he termed a “cooked-up” democratic process.
He alleged that the rejection of Meenakshi Natarajan's nomination was “not a routine scrutiny decision” but a “blatant illegality and political conspiracy.”
Siddaramaiah claimed that the BJP, despite having numbers to win only two Rajya Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh, fielded a third candidate and attempted “horse-trading” by offering money to Congress legislators. He further alleged that when those efforts failed, the election machinery was misused to reject the Congress candidate’s nomination.
He also argued that the grounds cited for rejection were “completely illegal,” asserting that there was no criminal case against Natarajan and that a private complaint or mere court notice does not amount to a criminal case requiring disclosure.
Stating that these legal points were already placed before the Returning Officer, Siddaramaiah questioned the impartiality of the decision and said it was politically motivated to favour the BJP.
“The Congress will strongly oppose this assault on democracy and the Constitution,” he said, adding that the party would continue its fight through all democratic means.
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