The Congress on June 10, 2026 met officials of the Election Commission of India (EC) to ask for an urgent reversal of the order that rejected Meenakshi Natarajan’s nomination for the Rajya Sabha seat from Madhya Pradesh. The party described the order as “egregious, blatantly unlawful and detrimental to the democratic process”.
Key Developments
- Congress leaders K.C. Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Vivek Tankha, Randeep Surjewala and Deepa Dasmunshi accompanied Ms. Natarajan to the EC office.
- Singhvi argued that the Returning Officer had acted beyond the law by rejecting the nomination.
- The party cited the Representation of the People Act, especially Section 33A, to show the rejection was illegal.
- Congress highlighted that June 10, 2026, is the last day for withdrawal of nominations, leaving enough time for the EC to intervene.
- Singhvi warned that failure to reverse the order would create a “highly skewed system” and damage the basic structure of democracy.
Important Facts
The EC’s own law (Section 33A) mandates disclosure only of criminal cases where the sentence is two years or more and where charges have been formally framed by a court. Singhvi explained that charge‑framing is a judicial step, not a mere police complaint, and therefore the RO’s rejection ignored this statutory safeguard.
Congress’s representation stressed that the nomination process must remain open until the withdrawal deadline, ensuring a level playing field for all candidates.
UPSC Relevance
This episode illustrates the functioning of India’s electoral machinery, a frequent topic in GS 2 (Polity). Understanding th