Daijiworld Media Network - Hyderabad
Hyderabad, Jun 13: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president K T Rama Rao on Friday launched a sharp attack on the Congress over the rejection of Meenakshi Natarajan's Rajya Sabha nomination, alleging that the party itself was responsible for her setback and that the episode was the result of an internal conspiracy.
Natarajan's nomination from Madhya Pradesh was rejected after the Returning Officer ruled that she had failed to disclose details related to a court case in Telangana, rendering her nomination papers incomplete. The Congress maintained that only a legal notice had been issued and that there was no requirement to declare it as a pending criminal case. However, the Election Commission upheld the rejection, while the Supreme Court declined to intervene, saying the matter should be addressed through election law remedies.
Questioning the Congress leadership, KTR said the party should first identify who leaked details of the case involving Natarajan and allegedly passed the information to BJP leaders, who later raised the issue before the Returning Officer.
“Congress leaders themselves know who betrayed the party and who worked against Meenakshi Natarajan. Rahul Gandhi should identify the black sheep within the Congress who are undermining the party from within,” he said.
At the same time, KTR described the rejection of Natarajan's nomination as unjust and accused both the Election Commission and sections of the Congress of failing her.
“What happened to Meenakshi Natarajan is wrong. The Election Commission wronged her. Congress too has wronged her, as reports of a conspiracy against her by Telangana Congress leaders are coming to the fore,” he said.
The former Telangana minister further alleged that factionalism and internal betrayal had long plagued the Congress. Referring to recent remarks by senior Congress leader Shabbir Ali regarding party positions allegedly being secured through money, KTR claimed the comments reflected what many political observers already believed.
He also accused the Congress of allowing financial and political considerations to influence appointments to key positions. In a personal attack on Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, KTR described him as a “renewal Chief Minister”, alleging that his continuation in office depended on satisfying the party high command.
Meanwhile, Revanth Reddy dismissed allegations of internal sabotage and instead blamed the BJP and the Returning Officer for Natarajan's disqualification.
“The BJP has made Kim Jong Un its role model, conducting elections in the same manner as they are held in North Korea. Earlier, they used to practise vote theft; now they are indulging in seat theft,” he alleged.
The chief minister accused the Returning Officer of being used as a tool to disqualify Natarajan and described the development as a setback to democratic values.
Calling the controversy “a fight between Gandhian principles and Godse's ideology”, Reddy said Natarajan represented Gandhian values while accusing the BJP of being anti-democracy and anti-women.
“There is no internal sabotage in this case. There is no FIR against Natarajan, and she is merely a respondent. The BJP and the Returning Officer are the main conspirators,” he asserted.
Following the Supreme Court's refusal to grant relief, Natarajan said it was evident that “seat chori” had taken place and vowed to continue the fight.
She maintained that the issue was not about her personal defeat but about repeated blows being dealt to democratic institutions and processes.