The Northern Railway has initiated the process of accepting the resignations of wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, with both expected to be relieved of their duties "as early as possible," according to railway sources. This development follows their recent entry into politics, with Phogat being fielded by Congress to contest the Haryana Assembly elections from the Julana constituency.
A senior railway official confirmed that the standard three-month notice period for resigning employees will be waived in their cases. "The provision of serving a three-month notice period will not hinder the process. We have decided to expedite the resignations of both players," the official stated.
Significantly, Phogat and Punia, who recently joined Congress, had resigned from Indian Railways shortly after the Northern Railway (NR), which they were part of, issued show-cause notices to them following their meeting with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi before officially joining the party. The Railways had explained that the show-cause notices were part of standard service norms since both were still government employees at the time. They submitted their resignations after receiving the notices.
However, it is pertinent to note that, while the players might have thought over the resignation as a final revival, tensions continue to boil down for Phogat, as post her resignation, there were widespread speculations that she might not be able to contest the elections, as the railways had not accepted it. (According to election rules, she must be officially relieved from the Railways to be eligible to contest the elections.)
But now, amid the current development, a railway official has cleared the air over the same. He said, "Now, with the Railways expediting her resignation process, there is no longer any hurdle in her contesting the election."
(With inputs from PTI)
