Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader KT Rama Rao (KTR) on Friday launched a sharp attack on the Congress over the rejection of Meenakshi Natarajan’s Rajya Sabha nomination, alleging that the grand old party itself was responsible for the crisis and her defeat, and it was the result of a conspiracy within. He accused Congress leaders of now attempting to shift the blame onto their opponents.
Natarajan’s nomination from Madhya Pradesh was rejected after the Returning Officer held that she had failed to disclose details of a court case in Telangana, rendering her nomination papers incomplete. Natarajan and the Congress argued that only a legal notice had been issued and that there was no requirement to disclose it as a pending criminal case. However, the Election Commission upheld the rejection, and the Supreme Court also declined to intervene, stating that the remedy lies under election law.
Questioning the Congress leadership, KTR said the party should first investigate who leaked details related to cases involving Natarajan and allegedly passed the information to BJP leaders. It was BJP leaders who raised the issue before the Returning Officer.
“Congress leaders themselves know who betrayed the party and who worked against Meenakshi Natarajan,” KTR said, adding that Rahul Gandhi “should identify the black sheep within the Congress who are undermining the party from within.”
However, the former Telangana minister said that what happened to Natarajan was “wrong”.
“The Election Commission wronged her. One thing is accepted in Jharkhand, while on the other hand Meenakshi Natarajan’s plea is rejected. This is absolutely wrong. Congress too has wronged her, given that reports of a conspiracy against her by Telangana Congress leaders are coming to the fore,” he said.
Further attacking the Congress, KTR claimed that the party has a long history of factionalism and internal betrayal. He also cited recent remarks made by senior Congress leader Shabbir Ali regarding positions allegedly being secured through money, saying the comments reflected what many in political circles already knew.
The BRS leader alleged that important positions within the Congress were often influenced by financial and political considerations. In a personal attack on the Chief Minister, he described Revanth Reddy as a “renewal Chief Minister”, claiming that his continuation in office depended on satisfying the party high command.
REVANTH REDDY SLAMS BJP
Meanwhile, the Telangana Chief Minister dismissed allegations of internal sabotage and instead blamed the BJP over Natarajan’s Rajya Sabha setback, alleging that the BJP and the Returning Officer were the key conspirators.
“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. I am questioning the conduct of the Returning Officer in Natarajan’s case. The Returning Officer was used as a tool to disqualify Natarajan, and that is the saddest part of our democracy,” he said.
Reddy described the controversy as “a fight between Gandhian principles and Godse’s ideology”, adding that Natarajan represented Gandhian values and “the BJP is 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. I would say the BJP and the Returning Officer are the main conspirators,” he asserted.
With the Supreme Court dismissing her plea, Natarajan said it was apparent to everyone that “seat chori” had taken place and asserted that “we are ready to fight”.
Natarajan said the issue was not about her “personal defeat”, but about the repeated setbacks being inflicted on democracy.
– Ends
Published On:
Jun 12, 2026 21:58 IST
