A team of Congress leaders met Election Commission officials on Wednesday over the Rajya Sabha candidature of Meenakshi Natarajan being cancelled in Madhya Pradesh. Following the key meet, Congress MPs Abhishek Manu Singhvi and KC Venugopal held a presser, calling the nomination cancellation “illegal”.AICC General Secretary and Madhya Pradesh in-charge Harish Chaudhary, state Assembly LoP Umang Singhar along with party candidate Meenakshi Natarajan, front centre. (PTI)Explaining the argument, Singhvi said the nomination was rejected citing a criminal case pending against Natarajan, but that is not the case. “The irony is that there is no criminal case that actually exists in law, that is established, that she could have disclosed,” Singhvi said.Venugopal on the other hand said the Congress delegation has made submissions to the EC and have been assured by the poll panel that they will look into the matter.The scrutiny and cancellation of Natarajan's papers over alleged non-disclosure of some elements had sparked a huge controversy, with several Congress leaders staging a dharna outside the EC offices in Delhi and Bhopal.Natarajan herself held a press conference, blaming the BJP's attempt to "trample the Constitution and democracy".While Congress claimed her nomination was rejected in an attempt to snatch the party's seat, the BJP alleged discrepancies in Natarajan's affidavit.BJP leader Rahul Kothari had filed a complaint alleging Natarajan's nomination papers failed to disclose summons issued to her by the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) in Hyderabad.Abhishek Manu Singhvi calls move "illegal"Before his meeting with EC officials, Abhishek Manu Singhvi released a video weighing in on the legal validity of the jolt to Meenakshi Natarajan. Singhvi called the EC Returning Officer's move "poor and absolutely partisan".He said there was no criminal case registered against Natarajan that she would disclose. "No criminal case comes into existence...There's a notice to her by a court based on a private complaint, well before the court has taken cognizance. The issue of cognizance is yet to be decided after hearing her," he said.His remarks came after Madhya Pradesh chief minister Mohan Yadav welcomed Natarajan's candidature cancellation saying she had been hiding a criminal record.