Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], June 10 (ANI): Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has alleged that the rejection of Congress candidate Meenakshi Natarajan's nomination for the Rajya Sabha election from Madhya Pradesh was part of a 'political conspiracy' and amounted to an assault on democracy and constitutional values.

In a post on X on Tuesday, Siddaramaiah criticised the BJP, saying the rejection of Natarajan's nomination reflected the 'real condition of democracy' under the Modi government, even as celebrations were held to mark Prime Minister Narendra Modi becoming India's longest continuously serving elected Prime Minister.

'It is peak irony that on the day the BJP is celebrating Prime Minister @narendramodi's supposed long stay in power as a cooked-up milestone for Indian democracy, the election machinery under his watch has illegally rejected the nomination of Congress candidate Ms. Meenakshi Natarajan for the Rajya Sabha election from Madhya Pradesh. This is the real condition of democracy under Modi,' Siddaramaiah said.

The senior Congress leader alleged that the decision was not part of a routine scrutiny process but a 'blatant illegality' aimed at preventing the party's candidate from contesting the Rajya Sabha election.

'The rejection of Ms. Natarajan's nomination is not a routine scrutiny decision. It is a blatant illegality and a clear political conspiracy,' he said.

According to Siddaramaiah, despite having the numbers to secure only two Rajya Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh, the BJP fielded a third candidate and allegedly attempted to influence Congress legislators. He claimed that when those efforts failed and Congress MLAs remained united, the ruling party resorted to using the election machinery to reject the Congress nominee's candidature.

'Despite having numbers to win only two Rajya Sabha seats from Madhya Pradesh, the BJP first fielded a third candidate. It then tried horse-trading by offering huge money to Congress legislators. When those attempts started failing and Congress MLAs stood united, the BJP used the election machinery to directly reject the Congress candidate's nomination,' Siddaramaiah alleged.

Siddaramaiah further argued that the grounds cited for rejecting Natarajan's nomination were legally untenable. Referring to allegations linked to a complaint filed against the Congress leader in Hyderabad, he said a private complaint does not constitute a criminal case unless a court takes cognisance of it.

'The ground used to reject her nomination is completely illegal. There is no criminal case against Ms. Natarajan in the eyes of law. A private complaint does not become a criminal case unless the court takes cognizance. A mere notice from a court is not a criminal case and need not be disclosed,' he said.

He maintained that a court notice by itself cannot be treated as a criminal case requiring disclosure in nomination papers and said this legal position had been presented before the Returning Officer.

'This clear legal position was placed before the Returning Officer. Yet, her nomination was rejected. This shows that the decision was not independent, fair or impartial. It was politically driven to help the BJP manufacture a victory it could not win honestly,' Siddaramaiah said.

Linking the development to what he described as a broader pattern, Siddaramaiah accused the BJP of manipulating democratic processes through methods such as voter suppression, misuse of institutions and political defections.

'This is part of a larger design. Through SIR and other methods, the BJP has been carrying out vote theft. Now, seat theft has been added to the same project. Whether by manipulating voters, breaking parties, buying loyalty, misusing institutions or stealing seats, the BJP's aim is the same: to create artificial numbers in Parliament. And, these artificial numbers are needed to pass anti-democratic and anti-constitutional laws without resistance,' he alleged.

'The Congress will strongly oppose this assault on democracy and the Constitution. We will stand with the people and fight this injustice in every democratic avenue,' Siddaramaiah added. (ANI)