'Submitted nomination papers by concealing property details'; Petition in High Court against Rajeev Chandrasekhar

KOCHI: A petition has been filed in the Kerala High Court seeking the cancellation of the nomination paper of Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the NDA candidate in Thiruvananthapuram. The petition was filed by Congress leader Avani Benson and Bengaluru native Ranjith Thomas. In their petition, the complainants alleged that Rajeev Chandrasekhar had hidden his property details in the affidavit submitted along with the nomination paper and that the District Collector, the returning officer, did not take action despite receiving a complaint in this regard.

The petition claims that this was illegal and action should be taken on the complaint. The petition alleges that Rajeev Chandrasekhar hid the details of his house and car and understated the value of his shares in the affidavit. The petitioners also alleged that Rajeev had hidden this information even when he contested for the Rajya Sabha in 2018.

A nomination paper should be accepted or rejected after considering all the complaints received during the time of scrutiny of the papers. The returning officer should also accurately state the reason for the same. However, the returning officer accepted the NDA candidate's nomination papers without taking such steps, the petition stated.

The petitioners also alleged that the Chief Electoral Officer and the Collector have not given a written reply to their complaint. In their petition, the complainants have asked whether the Chief Electoral Officer and the District Collector have the authority not to respond to those who complain against such false affidavits.