more-in A day after his nomination was rejected by the Returning Officer in R.K. Nagar, actor Vishal approached Chief Electoral Officer Rajesh Lakhoni on Wednesday and presented a petition seeking a recall of the order passed by the RO. While Mr. Vishal claimed that the RO went out of the hall to seek directions over the phone regarding his nomination papers, K. Velusamy, the Returning Officer, told The Hindu that the allegations made against him were not true. “I didn’t make any phone calls as he [Vishal] is claiming. I didn’t have any interactions with anyone,” Mr. Velusamy said. When asked about a viral video that showed him making an announcement that Mr. Vishal’s nomination had been accepted, Mr. Velusamy claimed that the actor and others present there put undue pressure on him. “All of them pounced on me… in order to escape from that torture, I said that. However, I did pass the right judgment later,” the RO said. Mr. Velusamy added that there was no question of any review of the actor’s nomination since a decision had already been communicated. Later in the day, Mr. Vishal met CEO Rajesh Lakhoni at the State secretariat. Mr. Lakhoni, after perusing the petition and listening to the actor’s version of events, assured him that he would do his best.The CEO also held a meeting with the RO amidst speculation that the latter might be replaced on Thursday However, the actor inadvertently addressed the letter to the State Election Commissioner, instead of the Chief Electoral Officer. In his petition, Mr. Vishal said, “The R.O. [Returning Officer] has passed the rejection order in complete contravention of the relevant laws and procedure. I am given to understand that the R.O rejected my nomination only at the behest of certain persons belonging to the ruling government.” “Since one other proposer had already accompanied the candidate, that is, myself, for the scrutiny, the RO ought not to have permitted the other two persons to be present in the scrutiny hall itself,” he said, adding that these persons were not entitled to be present during the scrutiny of the forms and scrutinising the forms on the basis of statements made by them was per se illegal. The actor also said that the Returning Officer, in order to take a decision, after he had given his clarification and explanation, went out of the hall and spoke to someone on his mobile phone. Mr. Vishal also tweeted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind seeking justice.

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