The Indian Railways has officially accepted the resignations of wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, as reported by the officials on Monday. The Northern Railways has informed that the resignations were ”accepted by the competent authority with immediate effect.” The information was revealed through two separate notices in response to the resignations which were submitted on September 6. The development comes as both Phogat and Punia have recently decided to join the Congress party. Phogat has been allotted a ticket to run from the Julana constituency in the upcoming Haryana assembly elections.
Notice period relaxed
The wrestlers have also been exempted from serving a notice period of three months from the Northern Railways. Before this, there was widespread speculation that Phogat’s political entry might be affected because of the standard notice period norms.
Earlier, the Northern Railways issued show cause notices to both the wrestlers for meeting with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. The notices were sent to them as a routine service protocol as both of them were government employees. In response to these notices, both of them decided to resign from their posts in the Railways.
What does the rule say?
As per election regulations, to contest the upcoming October 5 assembly elections, Phogat needs to be officially relieved from her duties in the Railways. As the Railways has given its approval, Phogat is now eligible to contest the elections.
(With inputs from PTI)