Railways approve resignations of Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia ahead of elections

New Delhi: On Monday, the Indian Railways accepted the resignations of wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, according to officials. The Northern Railway announced that their resignations, submitted on September 6, were "accepted by the competent authority with immediate effect."

Phogat and Punia recently joined the Congress party, with Phogat receiving a ticket to run for the Haryana assembly elections from the Julana constituency. The Northern Railway waived the usual three-month notice period in their cases, which had raised concerns that Phogat might miss the upcoming elections due to this requirement.

To be eligible to contest the October 5 polls, Phogat needed to be officially relieved from her position with the Railways. With the acceptance of their resignations, both Phogat and Punia are now free to pursue their political careers.

Previously, the Northern Railway had issued show-cause notices to both wrestlers after they met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi before officially joining the party. The notices were a standard procedure for government employees. Following these notices, both wrestlers chose to resign.

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