Congress calls Returning Officer’s order on Meenakshi Natarajan’s Rajya Sabha nomination ‘egregious’

Congress officials, including general secretary K.C. Venugopal and senior leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi, met with the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday to appeal against the rejection of their Madhya Pradesh Rajya Sabha candidate Meenakshi Natarajan's nomination. The delegation argued that the Returning Officer's decision was "egregious, blatantly unlawful" and detrimental to democracy. They emphasized that the order violated provisions of the Representation of the People Act and urged the Commission to reverse its decision before the withdrawal deadline. The Congress leaders stressed the importance of preserving a level-playing field in elections and warned that failing to intervene could create a skewed system.