CM Mohan Yadav welcomes SC dismissal of Cong leader’s plea against Bhopal MLA

Posted on by Vividh Bharathi

Bhopal, Nov 3 (IANS) Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision to dismiss the Special Leave Petition filed by Congress leader P.C. Sharma challenging the election of BJP MLA Bhagwandas Sabnani from the Bhopal South-West constituency.

In a post on X, the Chief Minister said that Sabnani, who had already secured the mandate of the people, has now also achieved victory in the Supreme Court. He noted that Sharma had earlier filed an election petition before the Jabalpur Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, alleging that EVMs were tampered with, that the machines were not fully charged, and that they had been compromised through collusion with the administration.

CM Yadav recalled that the High Court had dismissed the petition after finding that the Congress candidate failed to substantiate the allegations of EVM tampering with concrete evidence. Claims regarding the charging of EVMs and other alleged irregularities also could not be proved. The petition was therefore rejected for lack of sufficient evidence and legal grounds.

Dissatisfied with the High Court order, Sharma approached the Supreme Court. After hearing both sides, the apex court dismissed the Special Leave Petition.

The Chief Minister said the allegations concerning EVM tampering and electoral irregularities could not be proved either in the High Court or in the Supreme Court.

He added that the episode exposed the true nature of the Congress party, which, according to him, consistently raises questions about EVMs and the electoral process without substance.

The successive dismissal of the petition by both the High Court and the Supreme Court has strengthened the BJP’s position on the credibility of the electoral process in the state, while placing the onus on the opposition to present stronger evidence in future challenges.

The judicial outcome has brought an end to the legal challenge against Sabnani’s election from Bhopal South-West.

P.C. Sharma is a former MLA from the Bhopal Dakshin-Paschim (Bhopal South-West) Assembly constituency and has earlier served as a Cabinet Minister in the Madhya Pradesh government, holding key portfolios including the Law and Legal Affairs Department, Public Relations, Science and Technology, and Civil Aviation.

–IANS

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Addressing a press conference at Vidhana Soudha, CM Shivakumar said he was merely continuing a process initiated by previous governments and maintained that no land would be acquired forcibly.

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He alleged that the Kumaraswamy government had declared the proposed project area a “red zone” in 2006, restricting land transactions, and had issued a Letter of Intent to private developer DLF after receiving a deposit of Rs 400 crore.

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