Cong files plaint against BJP’s Ambala candidate for holding office of profit

A party delegation, led by former state treasurer advocate Rohit Jain, met Ambala district magistrate-cum-returning officer Shaleen on the day of scrutiny of nominations and raised the objection that Kataria, wife of former MP Rattan Lal Kataria, holds office of non-official member in Shri Mansa Devi Shrine Board (SMDSB) in Panchkula

The Indian National Congress (INC) on Tuesday filed a complaint against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Banto Devi Kataria and accused her of holding the office of profit and still contesting elections, while also seeking her rejection.

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A party delegation, led by former state treasurer advocate Rohit Jain, met Ambala district magistrate-cum-returning officer Shaleen on the day of scrutiny of nominations and raised the objection that Kataria, wife of former MP Rattan Lal Kataria, holds office of non-official member in Shri Mansa Devi Shrine Board (SMDSB) in Panchkula.

However, hours later, the board secretary informed Shaleen that she had resigned on April 29 and was accepted. HT has a copy of the letter.

Jain, in his complaint, contended that she was nominated to the board as per a gazette notification by the urban local bodies department on July 17, 2023, which amounts to holding an office of profit under the Haryana government.

“Moreover, since this office has not been declared by Parliament of India from the ambit of office of profit by including its name in either section 3 of the Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act, 1959…,” the complaint read.

“As per Article 102 (1) of the Constitution of India aforesaid Banto Devi Kataria is not eligible to contest the elections as she is holding the office of profit and neither has she resigned from the said post nor her resignation has been accepted..” it added.

This comes hours after another advocate, Hemant Kumar, had filed a similar complaint with Shaleen. Kumar had also raised questions on her candidature and said that as per the notification, she could hold the post till May 7, 2025, for two years.

Jain told the HT that while the candidature of their candidate Varun Chaudhary was accepted immediately during the scrutiny, an official process followed to check Banto’s nomination.

Later, the board secretary informed the returning officer about her resignation, adding that she had not taken any remuneration as a non-official member.

While Shaleen was not available for comments, a statement issued by the district administration said that 15 nominations were accepted, including Banto’s.

Out of 27 aspirants who applied, the statement said 26 were found to be correct and 15 were accepted during the scrutiny.

Jain said, “If there was a resignation, there should have been a gazette notification as well, which was not provided. On the remuneration claim, we will get it checked on our end as well and take legal course, if required.”

Reacting to this, a nominated member in the Ambala municipal corporation representing the BJP, Sandeep Sachdeva, took a dig at the Congress and said, “They used half-baked facts to corner our candidate earlier as well, which shows that they have accepted their defeat. I’m sure that like the returning officer accepted her candidature, voters will follow suit.”