A day after securing bail following her arrest while trying to march to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s residence in Bhopal, Nisha Bangre, a Sub-Divisional Magistrate in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhatarpur, said the judiciary was her last hope in having her resignation accepted and in contesting the upcoming Assembly elections. The Madhya Pradesh High Court has a scheduled a hearing for Thursday.
Ms. Bangre, 32, who belongs to a Scheduled Caste (SC), has been up in the arms against the BJP government in the State since June, when the government denied her permission to attend a Buddhist event in her hometown Amla of Betul district, and an all-religion prayer for the inauguration of her new home. Ms. Bangre resigned hours before the inauguration function and took part in it.
However, her resignation is yet to be accepted, diminishing her chance at entering the polls from her home constituency, Amla. She says that this forced her to start a march on foot, a ‘Nyay Yatra’, from Betul, on September 28. The march arrived in Bhopal on Monday and she was arrested after the group began proceeding towards the CM’s residence.
“If I were close to the BJP and wanted to contest on its ticket, my resignation would have been accepted in a day. I did not attend the other event but how could I sit out my own home’s inauguration? That’s why I resigned,” Ms. Bangre, 32, told The Hindu on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, another officer, Rajeev Sharma, an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) official and former Commissioner of Shahdol Division, is ready to contest the polls from his native Bhind constituency, after his request for voluntary retirement was accepted on Monday.
Ms. Bangre and her husband Suresh Agrawal, 36, an engineer, accuse the Madhya Pradesh government of acting with malice against her because she “raised her voice”, and that it was “illegal” to not accept her resignation. The government has also commenced disciplinary proceedings against her for attending the inauguration event, giving that as a reason before the High Court.
“Even my family is being threatened by anonymous calls. They randomly call and ask where we are and what we are doing. I have a three-year-old son. I am worried for his safety,” Ms. Bangre said.
Mr. Agrawal says he has to support his wife because she’s fighting for the right cause. “I never had anything to do with politics but I respect her fight. It takes a lot of courage to stand against the entire administration. So, it’s my responsibility to stand by her,” he said.
K.S. Sharma, who served a the State’s Chief Secretary between 1997 and 2001, said that according to the Madhya Pradesh Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1965, the government was bound to accept an official’s resignation within three months.
“Unless there are some serious charges or some departmental enquiry is pending, it is not right to hold someone’s resignation. I don’t have the details of the enquiry going on against her,” Mr. Sharma told The Hindu.
Ms. Bangre, however, alleges that the proceedings against her were initiated after the High Court in August directed the General Administration Department to decide on her resignation within a month.
“The HC, on my plea, directed them to take a decision on my resignation. After that, they started the proceedings and used it to get a stay on the earlier order. It won’t stand in the court,” she said, adding that she would approach the Supreme Court if the High Court’s decision was not in her favour.
She alleged that the denial of permission and withholding of her resignation was the result of the influence of the incumbent Amla MLA, the BJP’s Yogesh Pandagre, who has been fielded again by the party. Mr. Pandagre could not be reached for a comment despite multiple attempts.
Mr. Sharma did not comment on Ms. Bangre’s case and said that there need not be similarity in decisions pertaining to two different officials. “Everybody has a different reputation,” he said.
Mr. Sharma is yet to join any party but is believed to be close to the ruling BJP.
“I have offers from many parties but I will pick one which assures me of development in Bhind and entire Chambal region. That is my agenda,” he said, adding that he was in touch with the top leadership of various parties. The BJP is yet to declare its candidate for the Bhind seat.
On the other hand, Ms. Bangre is believed to have grown close to the Congress, with the party’s leaders now joining her marches. A source in her family said that she has been in touch with senior Congress leaders, including Kamal Nath and Digvijaya Singh.
