Chennai: After his hopes of contesting the Dr RK Nagar byelections came crashing down following rejection of his nomination papers, actor Vishal Krishna on Wednesday termed the returning officer's action “mockery of democracy” and decided to knock at the doors of Raj Bhavan to seek Governor Banwarilal Purohit's intervention.
As a major controversy erupted over the rejection of his nomination papers late on Tuesday night by RK Nagar Returning Officer K. Velusamy for the byelections scheduled for December 21, Vishal flaunted the “video evidence” and claimed that his nomination was rejected without “any basis” and saw via a “political conspiracy.”
The actor, who is the general secretary of Nadigar Sangam and chief of the Producers' Council, also made public his plans to petition Governor Banwarilal Purohit, seeking his intervention in ‘saving the democracy’ since his ‘right to contest’ polls have been snatched away.
“What happened on Tuesday is a mockery of democracy and we will not accept the decision of the returning officer. Why am I being targeted? What is the need to reject my nominations? Despite submitting video proofs, I am yet to get justice,” Vishal told reporters, even as he met Chief Electoral Officer Rajesh Lakhoni and explained to him about Tuesday’s incidents.
Vishal’s nomination papers to contest the December 21 byelection to RK Nagar was rejected by the returning officer on Tuesday on the grounds that two of the 10 persons whose names figured as ‘proposers’ disowned their signatures on those documents.
The actor also sought to raise the matter with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ramnath Kovind’s office through his twitter handle. “To the people, I look up to, Hon @narendramodi & Hon @rashtrapatibhvn... I am Vishal, I hope u r aware of wats happening in the RK Nagar Election process in Chennai.” “My nomination was accepted & later rejected. Totally unfair. I bring this to your notice & I hope justice prevails,” he said in the tweet.
The actor said he has sought an appointment from Governor Purohit, currently in Kanyakumari, to lodge a complaint on the matter. During his meeting with Lakhoni, Vishal submitted a written complaint detailing the events that led to the ultimate rejection of his nomination papers.
“People know what happened yesterday. They know how a rejected application was reconsidered before being rejected again. I have submitted a complaint to him (Lakhoni) n all that happened,” he said. Vishal also denied he was being “propped” up by the DMK, Kamal Haasan or AIADMK rebel T T V Dhinakaran.
