Five-time Member of Parliament Kodikunnil Suresh on Monday said he will appeal against the Kerala high court order setting aside his election on the ground that he was not entitled to contest from a reserved constituency as he does not belong to a Scheduled Caste.
He also alleged that he was a victim of a 'conspiracy' and a section within the Congress was behind it.
"I will appeal in the Supreme Court against the high court order after consulting the party high command, Kerala leadership and my lawyers," he told reporters.
Justice G Sashidharan Nambiar of the high court allowed the election petition of the defeated Communist Party of India candidate R S Anil and two others who had challenged Suresh's election from the reserved constituency of Mavelikkara.
The court found that there were conflicting statements made by Suresh about his caste status. As per school records, he is a converted Christian and was not entitled to the benefits enjoyed by members of scheduled castes.
Suresh said that his school-leaving certificate had mentioned that his caste was SC and religion Christianity, which may have been a mistake committed by his parents. He claimed he had rectified it by making a gazette notification about his status as a person belonging to scheduled caste in the Hindu community.
He alleged that the case was a 'political conspiracy' by some rivals in his party and opposition parties.
"I fought elections and won five times. I had fought Parliament elections and on all occasions, CPI candidates were my rivals. They did not bother to raise the issue of caste and challenge it in the previous elections. This time the case was conducted without bothering about its expenses. This was also a proof that there was a deep-rooted conspiracy," he said.
"A section in the party has been working against me for quite some time. They were jealous of my rise in the party," the All India Congress Committee secretary claimed.
