Kolkata, March 24 Even before submitting her nomination papers, uncertainty looms over the candidature of Swapna Barman – the Trinamool Congress candidate for the Rajganj Assembly seat in Jalpaiguri district and an Asian Games gold-medallist athlete.
Despite being a railway employee, Swapna is facing an internal inquiry initiated by the Railways following allegations that she joined a political party.
In response, she asserted that she submitted her resignation letter on March 16, but claimed the Railways have been dragging their feet on the matter.
Citing this grievance, she has filed a petition with the Circuit Bench of the Calcutta High Court, said a party insider on Tuesday.
Swapna joined the Railways in 2020 and serves as a Staff and Welfare Inspector in the Alipurduar Division. Last month, she joined the Trinamool Congress. Earlier this month, her name was announced as a Trinamool candidate from the Rajganj Assembly seat.
On March 16, she submitted a formal application to resign from her railway service. However, prior to this – on March 9 – the Railways had already levelled disciplinary misconduct charges against her for participating in a political rally.
As Indian Railways has neither accepted her resignation nor issued the requisite No Objection Certificate (NOC), she faces the risk of encountering difficulties in filing her nomination papers.
Anticipating these potential hurdles, she has already filed a petition with the Circuit Bench of the Calcutta High Court in Jalpaiguri. She contends that although she submitted her resignation letter on March 16, the Railways have failed to accept it.
The Calcutta High Court has directed her to resubmit her resignation letter and has further ordered the Railways to consider her resignation application within the next 48 hours. If the Railways fail to accept her resignation within this window, her candidacy itself could be called into question.
Meanwhile, things do not seem to be going well for Swapna Barman at the moment. She has just lost her father. Reports suggest that her father had been unwell for quite some time.
He was admitted to a private hospital in Siliguri, where he eventually passed away.
Consequently, due to her father's death, she was unable to fully immerse herself in the election campaign. Amidst all this, doubts have now arisen regarding her candidacy.
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